Proud Hearts
by Negative Angel
Summary: Domino City becomes a battleground for the future when Yugi, Yami, Joey, Tea, Tristan and Kaiba are drawn into a war between new arrivals Kai, Max, Ray and Tyson now renamed the Rescuers , and their arch-enemies - The Crusaders. First Iceshipping Kaiba x Kai fic, also contains Turtleshipping Yami x Max
1. Brink of Oblivion

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters.

Here we go people, my first crossover fic, at the request of **Negative Alliance**. I can't believe you roped me into doing this…

_Alliance: Not my fault you said you were willing to do any idea I suggested._

Shut up you. Or do you want me to change my mind?

_Alliance: You won't cause otherwise I will change your password and screw around with your fics…_

:O All right, get ready for an ass whipping you won't soon forget!

_Alliance: EEEP! (runs away)_

Sigh…okay, enough messing about. By the way, the pairing this fic centres around has been dubbed **Iceshipping** by Negative Alliance so look out for me doing more of this pairing in the future.

Let the story begin!

* * *

**Proud Hearts**

**Prologue: The Brink of Oblivion**

Screams flooded through the air as the remains of London came tumbling down. The earthquake itself was of high intensity (measuring at 6.7 on the Richter Scale) but with troops marching down the ripped up concrete and shooting down anyone they came across, things were desperate. People were having to take their chances in the abandoned buildings on the verge of collapse or they were faced with certain death. Among these people was one of the Rescuers: a band of teens willing to stand up to the soldiers and helping the public escape their harm. These four teens had single-handedly stopped 'The Crusaders': an international terrorist group, from taking control of the world two years earlier but it resulted in over half of the world's population being killed in the space of 1 minute and 30 seconds. The world did not know what the reason was behind 4 billion people being killed in a series of natural disasters but the loss of life had been dubbed as "Exposure" by the Rescuers.

Only those four teens knew the truth of "Exposure" and of how to stop the Crusaders permanently.

Two years on and humanity was being rounded up and forced to work in labour camps for creating extremely advanced technology or being trained to hunt down their only hopes. No-one knew what the technology was, or what it was meant to find: or rather, who. All they knew was that they had to complete it or face death. Had it not been for the Rescuers, the world would be in the hands of the Crusaders, but they were now at a serious disadvantage. Only weeks earlier, the Crusaders had developed brain altering technology and had since recruited thousands to their cause.

Four versus sixteen thousand was not very good odds, but the Rescuers were unafraid.

That was why Max Tate, youngest of the Rescuers, was now in the centre of London, risking his life, trying to save as many people as possible from the Crusaders.

"Max, are we going to die?" asked a young boy next to him. Max looked down at the child and ruffled his hair, trying to provide some reassurance.

"Nah, we'll be fine, trust me," replied Max cheerfully. The teen's appearance made him easy to trust: with blonde hair, soft blue eyes and wearing simply a green t-shirt and black jeans he did not appear intimidating to many. The small group of survivors he was guiding all nodded their heads in acknowledgement. The only thing that gave Max away from the common person was the massive blaster on his back and the small guns strapped to his thighs but it was these additions which had triggered the massacre of London.

Max peered out as another shockwave shook the building above their heads. Troops were shooting everything which moved, whether it be a person or a bit of paper floating down the street. Max shuffled back and signalled his group to move back and find another way out. The group of fifteen followed his instructions and disappeared into the darkness but it was quickly apparent that they were cornered. Max drew his pistols and prepared to shoot his way out should the situations deteriorate.

Another shockwave destabilised the building further and a large amount of rubble dropped onto everyone's heads. The small amount of children whimpered and snuggled into an adult be that a stranger, parent, friend or Max. Max pulled himself free of the boy glued to his hip and peered out over the small amount of debris which shielded them. He caught sight of four troops scanning from the outside of the building and slipped out of danger. The rest of the group ducked further into the darkness and quietened their breathing, in fear of the slightest sound giving away their position. They sat in silence for about half a minute: until Max heard the soldiers depart.

Max breathed a sigh of relief and ushered the small group out of ruins and directed them towards the river, carefully keeping out of sight of any soldiers. When other survivors saw Max guiding his group, his numbers steadily grew.

When they reached the river and made their escape on a large hovercraft, Max was happier with his efforts, but it was still not enough lives saved in his opinion.

* * *

Tyson Granger waited impatiently on the shores of Rescuer Isle, the small undiscovered island which the Rescuers had adopted as their home, for Max to return with the survivors of London. Being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean had provided a safe haven for the Rescuers to begin planning their attempts to stop the Crusaders, but it also made contact with the outside world a pain. Tyson thumped his foot impatiently off the white sand and willed to hear Max's voice through his radio.

"Tyson!" Tyson spun around to find his long time friend and fellow Rescuer, Ray Kon, standing behind him. Ray's long black hair was being caught in the breeze despite being tied back into a ponytail and his white shirt was catching the reflection of the calm ocean. His dark blue combat trousers were covered in sand around the bottom and his cat-lie eyes were fixed firmly on Tyson. Looking at Ray almost made Tyson conscious of his appearance: with a torn red denim shirt, black combats which were ripped in many places and scruffy dark blue hair hanging down, he didn't exactly appear well kept. "Tyson, Max has got back in contact."

Tyson sighed in relief. "Thank god, it took him ages to let us know what happened. What was the hold up?"

Ray's face quickly turned sombre. "Crusaders."

Tyson needed no other answer and quickly dashed to the control room a hundred metres away. He threw open the door and screeched to a halt in front of the microphone. "Maxie? Are you all right?"

"Hey Ty. Yeah, I'm okay but things didn't go well," replied Max sadly.

Clearly something was very wrong. "How many people did you get out?"

Max took his time in answering. "I only got 107, Tyson…"

Tyson's face quickly drained of all colour. "Max…there were over five thousand still living there."

"Yeah…but that was until the Crusaders realised I was there. They started shooting down everything that moved. There is no-one else left, Tyson. They killed them all."

Tyson's fist was visibly shaking with anger. "How far out are you, Maxie?"

"I'll be there in about 4 minutes."

"Okay, see you then." Tyson stepped away from the microphone and turned to Ray, but did not look him in the eye. "107 people…out of over five thousand… Those monsters! How could they?"

Ray stepped up and placed a hand on Tyson's shoulder. "Tyson, we can't do anything about that now. Let's go and meet Max. We might be some help."

"Shame we don't have any good news to give him…"

* * *

When Tyson and Ray arrived at the dock, Max was helping the last of the survivors off the hovercraft. Max's stony face said it all: it wasn't enough.

"Max?" asked Tyson steadily. Max turned to face him.

"I'm fine, Tyson."

"You don't look it," added Ray.

Max sighed deeply before continuing. "I don't know how I got spotted, but a Crusader soldier saw me and straight afterward, people were being massacred. I didn't even have time to put up a fight, all I could do was watch and try to save as many as I could."

"Don't worry about it Maxie, we still have you."

Max chuckled darkly. "That doesn't make me feel any better. It's still my fault that all those people are dead."

"Max, you coul-" Tyson was interrupted by his radio going off. "Go for Tyson."

"Tyson, get Ray and Max and head down here right now."

"Why the urgency?"

"I've finished it."

Tyson's mouth slowly opened in shock, which drew the attention of Max and Ray. "You serious?"

"Just get down here."

Tyson took a couple of seconds to realise that the conversation was over because of the shock. It took Max three attempts of addressing him before Tyson finally snapped back to reality. "Tyyyyson? Tyson, snap out of it!"

"Huh? What?"

"Tyson, what's got into you?"

"Kai's finished it. He's _actually_ done it. We can end this!"

Max and Ray stood dumbfounded for a couple of seconds before breaking out into massive grins. "He's done it?"

"Kai didn't sound like he was kidding. Come on!"

* * *

Kai Hiwatari leaned against the wall as he waited for the rest of the Rescuers to arrive. Kai was the eldest at 18 and was also the one who had founded them after single-handedly stopping the Crusaders from taking control of the world, but at the same time was responsible for the sad state humanity was now in. Humanity may not know and his friends may not have known, but he knew. He was responsible for the deaths of millions but he was about to make amends. _I'm finally going to atone for the deaths of so many…I just hope I haven't screwed up somewhere._

"Kai!" Kai raised his amaranth orbs from the floor to gaze at his now panting friends in the doorway. "Is it really ready?"

Kai chuckled before answering. "I wouldn't have dragged you all down here unless it was."

The grins on Tyson, Max and Ray's faces couldn't have been wider. "I can't believe we are actually going to do it…" stuttered Max.

"You know, you three don't have to come with me," stated Kai. The other three looked at him disbelievingly. "I'm the only one who needs to go. Besides, somebody needs to keep an eye on this thing."

"Kai, we've been through this. We started this together, we sure as hell are going to finish it together," declared Tyson.

"And I don't think you guys realise the gravity of the situation. This isn't just a random trip we'll be taking. We will actually be going BACK IN TIME. We are going to be changing history and have to live through it until we catch up to the point in time that we originally left from. That means we will have to relive the past two years without meeting ourselves. This is not going to be easy."

"Kai, there is no point arguing about this. We are going with you and that is final."

"We've been waiting nearly two years for this, Kai, we aren't going to back down now."

"Since you came up with the plans for the Vortex Generator we have been adamant that we are going with you. Like you said, this isn't just any trip and you might need some help should something go wrong."

"Guys…" Kai was speechless for once. He gave a small laugh before answering. "Thank you."

"We should be thanking you!" chirped Max. "You are the one who came up with this idea and you are the one who figured out how to actually journey back in time! I can't believe we are actually going to do this!"

"Yeah, no kidding! I am so stoked for this!" exclaimed Tyson. Kai walked over to a console on a nearby wall and activated it. One of the other walls opened up and revealed a large machine with a circular front which started to glow.

"All right, are you three ready?" asked Kai, even though he knew the answer. Max stripped himself of his weapons while Tyson and Ray took up position in front of the device.

"Hit it, Kai!"

Kai smiled before pressing a single button on the console. The four friends stood and faced the light and knew they were in for an adventure, but they did not realise just how great and life-changing that experience would be for all of them.

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 1 is going to be coming up soon.


	2. Arrival in Domino

Finally, I'm getting back to this story. Sorry about the hold-up but I'm jugging four stories at the moment and it looks like it is about to become five.

_Alliance: So what you are saying is you can't help yourself._

Excuse me! You were the one who bugged me to start more stories! So this one is your fault!

_Alliance: (sticks out tongue) Not my fault if you can't say no._

Do that again…

_Alliance: What? This? (sticks out tongue again, which Angel grabs) MMMGGGHHH!_

Ahh…that's better. I'll let you go if you promise to do the Disclaimer and then shut up, deal?

_Alliance: (Nods and gets tongue back) Bleh…Fine, Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Beyblade. She also does not own any of their affiliated characters as much as she would want to. Good thing too otherwise you would never hear anything of Kai Hiwatari or Seto Kaiba ever again._

(growls) So much for shutting up after doing the Disclaimer (pulls out gun)

_Alliance: YIKES! (runs away)_

(sighs) Now that the distractions are dealt with, let's get on with it.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Arrival in Domino**

"Hey Yuge, how does it feel knowing that we'll never have to save from the world from another demented loony?" asked Joey happily.

"Great! And better yet, Yami finally has his memories back and he chose to stay with us! Things couldn't be better!" chirped back Yugi.

"Well, they could if certain asshole of a CEO would stop bugging Yami for a rematch every three days. After four years you would have thought he would have taken the hint that he isn't gonna beat Yami as long as he lives!"

Yugi sighed. "Well Kaiba is determined; I think we should be more worried if that ever changes into obsession like it did before."

"Yuge, the guy IS obsessed already!"

Yugi shook his head slowly. "It's just Kaiba's character. Yami doesn't seem to mind that much: I think he enjoys the challenge as much as Kaiba does."

"Hmph. Still, I wish Kaiba would just back off. What is his problem anyway? Why is he so cold all the time? What did we do wrong apart from existing?"

Yugi chuckled. "Well I suppose he didn't earn the nickname of 'Ice Prince' for nothing."

Joey laughed. "Too true. I guess you can't have everything your own way. How long do we have to kill before meeting the others at the Arcade?"

Yugi had to shift his Duel Disk to get a good look at his watch. "We've got another half an hour or so. Remind me why you wanted to meet early again?"

"Come on Yuge, we haven't had any time just chatting between the two of us since, let me think, before we went to Egypt to unlock the pharaoh's memories!"

"God you're right, and that was two months ago!"

"So, tell me, how is it having Yami as a 'brother'?"

Yugi couldn't help but giggle. Since their last adventure they had been helping Yami settle into modern society fully by passing him off as Yugi's long lost brother. Yugi's grandfather had been more than happy with the idea. He had been jumping around like a kid at Christmas when the idea had originally been brought up. Any Egyptologist would have been thinking their dreams had come true when a former Egyptian pharaoh had asked if they could stay with them. After that, Yami had settled in nicely. He and Yugi were running the Game Shop, which allowed Yugi's grandfather to have one last world tour with old friend Arthur Hawkins. They were currently somewhere in South America. Yugi and Yami had found a letter waiting for them three days ago with a rather amusing photo inside: a six foot long snake sitting quite happily along both of the adventurers' shoulders while the men had massive grins spread across their faces. It was clear to see that they were enjoying every second of their adventure.

"It's great. Having him as a real person rather than a spirit inside the Puzzle is very different, but I like it."

"It's amazing how well he's fitted in with the gang, but then again, he kinda has been part of it since we realised who he is."

Yugi nodded but then had to stop in his tracks when a tin can flew out and missed his nose by centimetres. Joey jumped at the projectile and peered down the alleyway it had appeared from, only to see a scuffle between four thugs quite a way down. The blonde scoffed and started walking away with Yugi slowly following, but the tri-haired froze moments later.

Terrified screams caught Yugi's attention before they ended seconds later. Yugi looked to Joey and it was clear that the blonde had heard it too for he was running back to meet his friend. The pair cautiously looked down the alley and their mouths hit their throats when they saw that the thugs were gone, but one person was lying on their side in their place.

Yugi ran towards them with Joey close behind. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the person came into sight, and their appearance was certainly unusual. From the build it was clear it was a male. He was dressed in a black vest top while a ruby pendant hung beautifully around his neck. Camouflage combat trousers were slashed on one leg and were held up by a white belt with an ornate silver buckle. Black boots and black fingerless gloves tipped his splayed limbs. The most striking feature about the individual was his dual-tone hair: smoky azure with a deep midnight blue accompaniment. Blue and black triangles adorned his face and it was unclear whether they were painted on or tattooed.

Yugi knelt on one knee and shook him gently. "Hey, are you all right?"

He groaned but it was clear he was having trouble regaining consciousness. Joey joined Yugi in a crouch. "Hey buddy, wake up."

Amaranth orbs slowly revealed themselves to the concerned pair. "What…?" The deep voice startled the pair. Looking at him, they realised he could be no older than they were. "What happened?" He brought a gloved face up to rub his throbbing temples.

"Well, we were kind of hoping you could tell us what happened to you. We just found you like this," answered Yugi gently. "What's your name?"

"Kai…Kai Hiwatari."

"I'm Yugi, Yugi Mutou and this is my best friend, Joey Wheeler." Kai looked over groggily to Joey who gave him a small wave. Kai's eyes met with Joey's duel disk and he then realised that he was not where he should be.

Kai snapped out of his daze in a flash and rolled away into a crouching position. Yugi and Joey both jumped at the sudden movement and they finally got a good look at Kai. His physique was the envy of many: he had a perfectly toned chest and strong arms while it did not look over the top. His ash blue hair fell over his eyes in places while amethyst eyes sparkled in the dim lighting of the alleyway. Both Yugi and Joey were stunned at the man they had just found: he was devastatingly handsome. Kai's breathing had quickened slightly. "Where am I?" he asked steadily.

Yugi and Joey both looked at each other in confusion before answering. "Domino City, Japan."

Kai's mind spun with the new information. _I am definitely not in the past…_ "What year is it?"

Yugi did not know why the question was being asked, but he answered it anyway. "2010."

Kai's mouth hung open as realisation hit. _I'm not in the future either…I'm in the exact same year, but in a city I've never heard of and these guys are wearing things that I have never seen anything remotely similar to. Could it be…I'm in a different world?_

"Kai, what's wrong?" Kai faced the smaller teen and saw genuine concern in his eyes. Kai found it unsettling and when his eyes flitted over to meet Joey's he was met with the exact same thing.

He sharply stood and took two steps back. _This is wrong…this shouldn't be happening. Where are the others? What happened to them? I need to find them before they get into danger. I knew I should have insisted they stayed behind. If anything has happened, someone is going to have hell to pay for. _Without a backwards glance at the pair that had helped him, Kai fled.

"Hey! Wait!" Joey shouted and took off after him. Yugi too gave chase but within a couple of seconds, they had lost sight of him. "He's damn fast!"

"Joey, come on, I don't think he's from around here. He may need our help." The two picked up their pace and raced to the end of the alley. "I can't get any sort of peace…"

Kai slowed as the end of the alley came into sight. He paced himself gently as he strode down the pavement, taking in his new surroundings. It had been so long since Kai had been in a thriving, living city that he had almost forgotten what it felt like to be part of it.

He had forgotten what it was like to live an everyday life.

Kai's memories flooded his thoughts as he remembered his life before that fateful day: the day he saved the world, but also destroyed it. _We had only been free of BEGA for three months when the Crusaders ruined everything. If only they hadn't found that poor girl. If only they hadn't killed her._

_If only…they hadn't found the World Soul. Maybe then we would have had peaceful lives. Had I not been at the abbey that day and found out about it, then our world would be at the mercy of the Crusaders. But by the same token, had I paid more attention to his warning and protected her, I could have stopped the 4 billion deaths that resulted from Exposure. I just hope I get the chance to atone for my mistake._

_And I hope I haven't made another by letting Tyson, Max and Ray come with me. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to them and I could have prevented it._

Kai was so absorbed in his thoughts of his former life that he started slipping into his previous mind-set. He was returning to the man he was when he earned his nickname 'Ice Prince': cold, unfeeling, majestic and alone. His eyes were turning icy and he was walking with more aggression in every step he took, but that was not the worst trait which was returning. His confidence was being replaced by arrogance and it was that arrogance which was about to get him into serious trouble.

He turned his gaze to the buildings which surrounded him, pointedly ignoring the people passing by on the streets. He stepped back in silent admiration and couldn't help but collide with another passer-by. Kai bounced off the individual and hissed in pain sharply. He started to walk away, thinking that this person was not worth his time, but he could not have been more wrong. Kai snarled when he felt a strong hand grip his arm aggressively and rounded to confront the individual. Though his outward appearance may not show it, he was shocked at the frosty glare he was receiving.

"You might want to watch where you are going, punk," sneered a deep voice.

"Really? Well you let me know when I find someone worth more than a split second of my time," Kai snapped back, resenting the stranger for his tone and actions.

"Keep that up, and you won't be seeing other people for much longer."

"And who is going to see to that? You? I'd like to see you try." Kai quickly summed up the aggressor. He was a good half a foot taller than Kai, wore a black shirt and trousers with a white trench coat. Short brown hair tumbled down over his eyes and partially concealed the piercing sapphires beneath. His appearance would have intimidated many, but then again, Kai's appearance would send many running in fear. The two shared a furious glare and refused to back down.

Joey and Yugi finally emerged from the alley and scanned the area for Kai. Joey's eyes found the dual-haired teen, but he gulped when he also saw a very familiar CEO glaring at him. Joey nudged Yugi and the tri-haired teen spun to the scene. Yugi gasped silently.

Kai 'Ice Prince' Hiwatari just had to cross paths with Seto 'Ice Prince' Kaiba.

Yugi and Joey sped over, but they winced when they heard the argument that was unfolding. "Don't push me. I could make you disappear very easily," spat Kaiba with a venom that even Joey had not heard before.

"But the question is do they disappear out of fear rather than due to your own actions? I highly suspect it is due to the first rather than you seeing as I doubt you would have the balls to back up your words," hissed Kai with as much venom. Yugi and Joey both flinched. They had never expected anyone to be able to match Kaiba's ferocity.

"You are rapidly leaving a foul taste in my mouth."

"The feeling's mutual, but I doubt much else is."

Yugi decided to end the argument before it became any more heated. "Kai!" he called out.

The blue haired teen tore his gaze away from Kaiba and met the eyes of Yugi and Joey. "You two…"

"So your name is Kai?" inquired Kaiba icily.

Kai rounded back on the CEO. "Yeah, but don't expect me to ask to ask for yours."

"I wouldn't have let street trash like you speak my name anyway."

"Why did you take off, Kai?" Yugi's question was a desperate attempt to split the two glaring teens before something more serious took place.

"What do you care?" asked Kai coldly. He tried to pull away but Kaiba's grip held him in place. The hold was beginning to leave angry red marks.

"Well, we just found you in an alleyway unconscious and then you suddenly leg it? You never said what happened," answered Joey calmly. He had seen that if he set Kai off it would rapidly spiral into an argument similar to the ones he shared with Kaiba.

"It doesn't concern you."

"Kai, we just want to help, nothing more."

Kai turned to face Yugi and saw in his amaranth eyes that he was genuinely concerned. Kai sighed deeply and tried to rid himself of all his aggression but his attention was grabbed by a flash of light in the alleyway next to foursome. All turned to follow the flash and were stunned when they heard someone spluttering. Kai's eyes widened, which was not missed by Kaiba.

"Maxie?" whispered Kai so quietly that only Kaiba just heard him. Kai ripped his arm free of the CEO's grip and sped into the darkness.

"Kai! Jesus, that guy is just too fast!" Joey ran after him with Yugi in tow. Kaiba simply watched them for a couple of seconds before he ambled behind them, his curiosity piqued as to who their new acquaintance was.

Kai ran towards the coughing and was immeasurable relieved to see a familiar mass of blonde hair, which belonged to the individual splayed across the cold alley floor. "Maxie!"

"K-Kai?" Max spluttered out. Kai skidded to a halt and knelt next to Max. He helped the blonde sit up and rubbed his arms. Max was freezing cold. The blonde rubbed his head while trying to regain his senses. "Ugh…I feel like I've just been hit by a bus."

"If it is anything like I was, I think it will feel more like you've just had a building collapse on you," joked Kai.

Max spluttered out a laugh through all of his coughing. Kai cracked a small smile but swiftly hid it when he heard Yugi and Joey approaching. "There you are, Kai. Oh, is this a friend of yours?"

Max looked between Kai and then the new members of the conversation. "Kai, do you know these two?" he asked uneasily.

Kai kept an arm wrapped around Max's shoulders protectively. Over the two years of the war, Max and Kai had developed a close friendship and Kai thought of Max like a little brother; just as Max looked to Kai as an older brother. "No, they found me unconscious about ten minutes ago."

"Kai, what happened? Where are we?" continued the blonde. Only Kai saw Kaiba lean against a wall about ten feet away, but he pointedly ignored the CEO.

"Something went wrong, Max," he answered gently.

Max turned to him with tear filled eyes. "You mean…?"

"I have no idea what happened, nor do I know where we are."

Panic flooded Max's azure eyes. "What about Tyson and Ray? What happened to them?"

"I don't know, but we'll find them."

"Are they your friends?" intruded Joey. Kai and Max both turned to him where Joey breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Kai's eyes held no more ice but it was replaced with concern.

"Yeah, have you seen them? Tyson is about as tall as I am, has longish dark blue hair and looks just generally scruffy." Kai chuckled at Max's description of their friend. "Ray was wearing a white shirt, dark blue combats and has very long black hair tied back in a ponytail. You could say he looks like a cat."

Yugi and Joey shook their heads sadly. "Sorry, but we haven't seen anyone fitting that description."

"Where are they?" hissed Kai, angry at himself more than anything.

"Well, you could come stay with us you look for them. We could even get our friends to help in the search if you like," suggested Yugi. Both Kai and Max looked at him with a mix of shock and slight uneasiness.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Max. He noticed that Kai was suspiciously silent and caught his friend glaring at Kaiba. Max's nerves kicked into overdrive when he saw that Kai was wielding the look which had earned him his nickname of 'Ice Prince' but what truly alarmed him was that Kaiba was glaring back with as much ferocity.

"Yeah, I'll just call the others and tell them to keep their eyes open," assured Joey. Max felt slightly better and was at ease with Yugi and Joey, but Kai's reaction to Kaiba was worrying him. It had been a long time since he had seen Kai react so much to anyone. "By the way, I'm Joey, and this is Yugi." Joey gestured over to Yugi who smiled.

"I'm Max, who is that behind you?"

Joey spun round and nearly growled. "Kaiba, what the hell do you want?"

"I'm free to go where I like, unlike you, Mutt. Why are you not on a leash?" replied Kaiba in his haughty voice.

"Zip it, rich-boy!"

Kaiba chuckled cruelly which earned him a furious glare from Joey, but it was not him that was the problem. Kaiba's sapphire eyes darted back to Kai and he could not pin what it was about the dual-haired teen, but something rubbed him the wrong way. No-one had ever antagonised him with just their appearance before; then again there is a first time for everything.

Joey ignored Kaiba and then resumed his call to the others. He called Tea first and she answered. "Tea? Are Yami and Tristan with you? We've come across something rather unusual…"

* * *

So what did you think?

PLEASE REVIEW!

_Alliance: Or she will set a pack of hyenas after you!_

…Hyenas? Was that really the best you could come up with?

_Alliance: Would you rather I sent some giraffes?_

…Giraffes? Where did that come from…?


	3. Unexpected Visitors

Phew, Chapter 2 is finally here!

_Alliance: Took you long enough. By the way, are you caving yet?_

(Sighs) You were complaining about me doing too many stories earlier and now you want me to bring another one forward?

_Alliance: Yes. So, are you going to bring forward __**Spirit of Adventure**__?_

I might do, but I'm struggling for time to update enough as is!

_Alliance: Yes or no? Is it really that hard to give a single syllable answer?_

No.

_Alliance: No as in you are not going to do it, or no as in it is not that to give a single syllable answer?_

No it is not that hard to give an answer, and yes, I will release it early. Why do I put myself through this?

_Alliance: Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (glomps Angel)_

Gah…get off me or I'll change my mind!

_Alliance: Eeep! (scrambles away)_

Phew…the least you can do now is finish off with the disclaimer.

_Alliance: Done! Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Beyblade. She also does not own any of their affiliated characters._

Thank you Alliance. On with Chapter 2!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Unexpected Visitors**

Yami breathed a great sigh of relief when Tristan came into view outside the Domino Arcade. The brunette gave the former pharaoh a sympathetic look when he saw the reason for his displeasure: Tea was glued to Yami's arm and had a death grip on him. Since Yami had gained his own body Tea had decided to make a move on him, which had caused Yami many sleepless nights. Yami would not have objected to her asking to meet him once a week or so for a chat, but asking for every second day was a bit extreme in his opinion. Tea had been very obvious with her affection towards the former pharaoh and it had (inadvertently) resulted in a minor rift between Yami and Yugi. Things had thankfully been diffused after about a month at one of the guys' nights in at the Game Shop when Yami had made rather a shocking confession: he was gay.

Yugi was immediately relieved seeing as meant he would not be fighting the shorter teen for Tea's affection. All three of them were approving much to Yami's relief. Since then, Tristan and Joey were sympathetic to Yami's difficult situation. How was he meant to break it to the girl who had fallen head-over-heels in love with him that he was not, and would never be, interested in her? They had been trying to go over how to break it to her gently but nothing was coming to mind for them. Every week during their Guys' Only night they pondered over the problem, but no solution had been found. Finding the time to discuss things was easy for them: all they had to say was that Joey was bringing some porn for the others to watch and Tea always made a swift exit. Yami wished that Joey say it more often (or actually bring some over so that if she checked up on them it looked genuine) but then they might lose their only excuse. It was official: Yami was in a tough situation. He didn't want to hurt Tea's feelings as she was a great friend, but he couldn't let it go on: for Tea's sake and Yugi's.

Tristan managed to pry Tea off Yami's arm when they met him. "How are you doing?" he asked openly, though it was mainly aimed at Yami.

"We're great!" chirped Tea happily. Yami nodded tiredly.

"Any idea when Yugi and Joey will arrive?"

"Yugi and Joey met up a little while ago, they should be here soon I guess," said Yami, trying to sound natural. Tristan sensed the former pharaoh's uneasiness and guessed why: Yami was going to use today to break the bad news to Tea. Or at least try to.

"K, guess I should give them a call and-" Tristan cut his sentence abruptly short when he saw a burst of light over the shoulders of the other two. They followed his line of sight and too saw the strange illumination coming from the next alley. "So much for all the freaky magic being over…"

Yami started towards the alley with a jittery Tea in tow. "Should we really look? I mean, it could be serious."

Yami shot her a stern look. "We need to find out what this is, just in case it is something that could put others in jeopardy."

Tea fell silent and grabbed Yami's arm nervously. He rolled his eyes, at which Tristan had to stifle a laugh. Oh boy, did he ever feel sorry for Yami: he couldn't have picked a worse situation to get stuck with. Well, a worse human situation anyway.

They rounded the corner cautiously and felt their heart rates increasing when they heard sounds further up the alley. Inching their way along, their nerves changed to amusement when the sounds became coherent.

"Tyson, get your fat ass off me!"

"I ain't fat!"

"Just get the hell off me! Jesus, you weigh a ton: you've killed my back."

"Oh yeah, as if lying on top of you was comfortable!"

The three looked on puzzled as the pair unscrambled from each other. One was dressed in simply a white shirt and dark blue cargo pants, but he still carried an air of elegance. His long black hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and fell over his shoulder as he stood. The other looked much more dishevelled: a torn red denim shirt with shabby black combats and fairly long midnight blue splayed over his back; he clearly did not care much for his appearance. The two stood to their full height and were a good half foot taller than Yami and Tea, but were shorter then Tristan.

"Are you both unharmed?" asked Yami. Tea had finally let go of his arm and he could see red imprints of her hands on it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we're fine," replied Tyson warily. One thing the war had done to Tyson was ebb away his carefree attitude, and had replaced it with caution when meeting others. Ray too was slightly on edge.

"What happened to you?" questioned Tristan. Tea chose to remain silent.

"Not entirely sure actually. Ray, where are we?"

"Looks like Japan, but I don't know the city," answered Ray while surveying the surroundings.

"This is Domino City," stated Tristan.

"Domino?" inquired Tyson and Ray in surprise. "Ray, do you ever remember a Domino City?"

"No, I don't. Is it possible we're in the future?"

"Dunno. Hey, what year is it?"

"It is the year 2010, but I think I can explain the situation." Everyone turned to Yami as he continued. "You are both radiating a unique kind of energy, one that is not resident of our world."

"Er…translation, Yami?" intruded Tristan.

Yami turned to him and gave him a small smile. "These two are not from our world, they have been transported here from their own." Tristan and Tea gaped while Tyson and Ray looked to each other, dumbfounded. "What were you both doing before you arrived here?"

Tyson scratched his head while he thought. "Uh…we were back on Rescuer Isle, we went to see what Kai wanted; then we stepped through the Vortex Generator…" Tyson's eyes widened sharply. "Something must have happened when we went through the Vortex Generator!"

"What's that?" asked Tristan.

"It's something that one of our friends built to send us back in time. Kai was sure that he had it right…Wait! Kai and Max!" Tyson spun round to face Yami, Tristan and Tea. "Did you see two other guys? You would have been able to tell if they were from another world too, wouldn't you?" The other three shook their heads. "Where are those two?"

"Kai will look after Max, not that he needs that much protecting," reminded Ray.

Tyson chuckled. "Max has been spending far too much time with Kai. Then again, they are best friends so we shouldn't be that surprised."

"Well, we can always help you look for them. What are your names?"

Ray stepped forward. "I'm Ray, and this is Tyson." Tyson gave them a limp wave.

Yami joined Ray and offered his hand, which the latter accepted. "I'm Yami. These are my friends: Tristan and Tea." Tristan nodded and Tea smiled broadly.

"Right, now that's dealt with shall we-" Tristan was interrupted by Tea's phone going off.

She flipped it open and answered. "Hello?"

"_Tea? Are Yami and Tristan with you? We've come across something rather unusual."_

"Joey? Yeah, they're here and you aren't the only ones to have found something out of the ordinary."

"_Really? Listen, we found these two guys that aren't exactly run of the mill. They are looking for two of their friends: Tyson Granger and Ray Kon. Come across anyone?"_

"Yes! They are here with us! We just found them! Hang on Joey, I'll switch to loudspeaker." Tea pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed a button to turn on the speaker.

"_Seriously? Man, should have known with Yami's luck he'd find those guys."_ Some crackling could be heard on the other end before Joey spoke again, much quieter this time, signalling that he had mirrored Tea and switched to loudspeaker. _"How they doing?"_

"They're doing fine, but I think they want to say something."

Ray stepped up. "Kai? Max?"

"_Ray? Are you and Tyson all right?"_ Ray recognised the voice of Kai.

"Kai you asshole what did you do?" spat Tyson angrily. One thing that had not changed was that Tyson's temper could go at any moment. It had taken him that long to realise the gravity of their situation.

"_I didn't exactly plan for this to happen Tyson! Nice to see you've got your just-out-of-bed head on."_

"What is that meant to mean exactly?"

"_We don't have time for this…"_

"Answer me, _phoenix_…" A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Ray. Phoenix was the name Tyson used when he was either trying to pick a fight with Kai, or was pissed as hell with him. In this case it was both, but Tyson had chosen the wrong time to use it. That nickname always set off a certain blonde, and Ray was just waiting for the outburst.

"_Shut your trap Tyson or I swear I will sew it shut when I see you next!"_ Tyson recoiled slightly at the emotional outburst from Max as Tristan, Tea and Yami all jumped at the ferocity of the statement.

"I think we've got a little off topic here…" suggested Ray gently. Everyone except Tyson nodded in agreement, the dragon too busy trying to keep his mouth in check, else face the wrath of Max later.

"_So, back to my question earlier, are the two of you okay?" _restarted Kai. Ray always admired how Kai could instantly regain his composure.

"We are fine, Kai, how about you and Max?"

"_We're okay, though this situation is a bit unsettling…"_ responded Max. Ray was amazed that Max sounded so calm again after such an outburst only one minute before.

"I'd agree with that, I think it has set Tyson off," reasoned the tiger.

"_We need to find out what happened. Something clearly went wrong and I don't know where yet." _Ray could hear the guilt thick in Kai's voice and he was not the only one. Tyson finally started to calm down and felt his own guilt coming to the surface.

"_You four could probably stay with Yami and I while we work out what to do. What do you think Yami?"_

"That sounds like a good idea Yugi. Is that all right with all of you?"

Ray nodded but Tyson was still cautious. "What do you think, Kai?" he asked tentatively.

A pause could be heard on the other end. _"I think we should trust them. This isn't our world, and we will need some help."_

Tyson nodded. "Now that is settled," continued Yami, "I think we should all meet and discuss these strange events. It might enlighten us on how to return you all to your own world."

"_All right, we will see you back at the Game Shop soon."_

"Yeah, we'll see you then." With that, Tea hung up. "To the Game Shop?"

"Looks like it. You going to lead the way Yami?"

"Yes, and it looks like there is much we can talk about on the way. Come." Yami led the way and Tea grabbed his arm yet again. Tristan sniggered much to the confusion of Ray and Tyson.

"I suppose I should explain a few things to you two before we arrive."

* * *

"All right, we will see you back at the Game Shop soon."

"_Yeah, we'll see you then." _Joey put his phone away after the call ended but then thought of something. "Did Yami say 'return you all to your own world'?"

Yugi shook his head while Max stifled a giggle. Kai too shook his head and whispered into Max's ear. "Reminds you of Tyson, doesn't he?"

Max drew a deep breath. "Yeah, only less grouchy."

Kai smiled before turning back to Joey. "Looks like he has confirmed what I suspected. When I met you two I didn't recognise the city, but we were still in the same year as when we left. Jumping worlds was the only thing I could think of."

"Kai, how did the Vortex Generator send us to another world instead of sending us back in time?"

"I don't know, I'll need to look over the data to even start to have an idea."

"You guys were trying to go back in time?" Kai and Max both turned to Yugi after he asked his question.

"Yes, but I think we should explain it all when we meet Tyson and Ray, it is rather a complicated story," explained Kai.

"Okay, let's head back then." Yugi turned as did Joey. Joey was pointedly ignoring Kaiba, who was still leaning against the wall.

"Yugi's quite cute," whispered Max to Kai as he watched the other two walking. Amaranth orbs twinkled with mischief.

"Oh really? I wonder how he would react to that one," said Kai loudly enough that it caught Joey and Yugi's attention.

Max swiftly blushed. "Do not say that out loud!"

"Max, you just told that to _me, _that was your first mistake, expecting me to keep it myself was your second."

"Kai…please don't say anything."

"What would he say?" Max inwardly swore at Joey's curiosity.

Kai smirked before answering. "Max was just commenting on how cute Yugi was." Max punched Kai over the back of the head fairly hard. "Ow…suppose I deserved that."

"Damn straight!" Kai laughed lightly at the scarlet tinge to Max's cheeks, but also at the smile threatening to break through. Max knew that Kai meant it playfully and was just teasing him. Max stole a glance at Yugi and suddenly burst out laughing. Kai followed his gaze and had to hold back a laugh of his own. Yugi had gone bright scarlet and stood like a deer caught in the headlights, Joey was hiding a giggle behind his hand and Kaiba looked on amused at Yugi's reaction. Max drew a couple of deep breaths and steadied himself. "Well now that Kai has so kindly revealed all…" Max shot the dual-haired teen a mock glare at which Kai simply folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, "I'll freely admit that I do think you are cute, Yugi."

Yugi quickly darted his eyes away from the blonde. Max laughed lightly and placed his folded arms on Kai's shoulder before resting his head on top. Joey looked on amazed. "Are you two…?"

"A couple? Most people think so-"

"But that's just because they don't know us."

"If they did-"

"They would know that-"

"We're actually more like brothers," they finished together. Kaiba rolled his eyes at the display while Joey and Yugi just stared on.

"Have you two been practicing that just waiting for some fool to ask?" sneered Kaiba.

Max looked at Kai who was giving Kaiba a frosty glare. Chills went down Max's own spine at seeing it. "No, we do that quite often," started Max, trying desperately to alleviate some of the tension. "We just know what the other is thinking; we are best friends after all."

"Not that you would know what a best friend is," added Kai. The 'Ice Princes' shared another ferocious glare before Yugi attempted to diffuse the situation.

"So, shall we head off? We'll be waiting for you two at the end of the alley if you want to talk," he said while dragging Joey away. Joey look back in concern at their new friends and shot a glare at Kaiba, but then remembered the confrontation between Kai and Kaiba only minutes before. He turned away again, confident that they would be okay and was unaware of Kaiba following them out.

Kai sighed deeply once they were gone. "I messed up badly…"

"Kai, the others are fine and we are too. We'll get back home."

"Max, I don't even know what went wrong, is there any guarantee of us being able to return to our own world?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Max swung an arm around Kai's shoulders. "For your sake, we better: otherwise Tyson will be on your ass for the rest of your life."

Kai groaned. "You're right, I better cause nothing is worth that."

Max laughed heartily while dragging Kai back to the street. "Besides there are things here I could rapidly get used to. For example, we would not be stuck in a war, fighting to save the world. Nor would we have to look over our shoulders every minute waiting for someone to start shooting at us."

"Hmm…good points, but that isn't all is it?" answered Kai knowingly.

"Well, I suppose there are some great looking guys here…"

Kai laughed. "Now how did I know that you were thinking with your hormones there?"

"Because you were thinking the exact same thing." Kai gave Max an incredulous look. "Hey, I know I wasn't the only one checking out another guy."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I saw your eyes light up at someone Kai and I don't need to guess who."

"Go on then, enlighten me, Maxie." Max leant over and whispered into Kai's ear. He pulled back with a Cheshire cat grin on his face while Kai shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you Maxie, but no."

"Kai, there's a pretty fine line between love and hate-"

"And I know what side of that line I am on when it comes to him Max. I spent about 30 seconds in his company and that was more than enough."

"Do you maybe dislike him because he is a reminder of what you used to be?"

Kai turned to Max with a hurt look. "I dislike him because I wanted to keep my old self buried, and for some reason, he just drags it back out."

Max hugged Kai's waist tightly and rested his head on his best friend's shoulder. "You never know, maybe he could be helpful. Maybe he could help you overcome your past for good."

"Or maybe he could send me spiralling back into that dark person I was before. I can't take that chance Maxie."

Max stopped and looked at Kai, whose eyes were swollen with tears. "Kai, you won't. We won't let you; I won't let you. I'm not going to lose my best friend and older brother after it took me so long to find him."

Kai chuckled. "So you really think he could help? You of all people know what I was like a couple of years ago: an arrogant stuck-up shit. How is someone like that going to be of any help whatsoever?"

"Kai, trust your heart. What's it saying?"

Kai paused in thought for a couple of seconds before answering: his serious demeanour having returned. "That we need to return home as soon as possible. Something about this whole situation doesn't sit right with me and I need to find out what happened. Come on Max, Tyson and Ray will be waiting for us." Max sighed at the change of subject but suspected that it had been coming. Kai gave him a small smile before continuing on.

Max watched solemnly as Kai walked away. _Kai…you haven't done anything for yourself since the start of our war. I hope this little adventure helps you realise that you don't have to live simply for others. I hope that you can learn to trust another, and maybe…maybe even fall in love again…_

* * *

PLEASE REVIEW!

_Alliance: Or she will set her pet jaguar after you._

I have a pet jaguar?

_Alliance: You are about to…_

What am I, a zookeeper?

_Alliance: Do you honestly want me to answer that?_


	4. Explanations

Okay folks, this is a big chapter and hopefully I won't confuse you all too much.

_Alliance: Well I'm confused!_

Yes, but that's you.

_Alliance: (growls) What's that meant to mean? _

What do you think it means? You are an idiot! AACCKKK! (gets tackled by Alliance)

_Alliance: How's it having me sitting on you? (laughs evilly)_

Ugh…time for some help. Edge! (jaguar appears) Get her!

_Alliance: I knew I was going to regret giving you a pet jaguar. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! (runs away being pursued by jaguar)_

Now that's dealt with…I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. Disclaimer done, so let's get this show back on the road!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Explanations**

"So, let me get this straight…" started Tyson, a little bit confused. "Tea is madly in love with Yami but Yami gay so there could never be anything between them. However, Yami doesn't want to tell her that so not to hurt her feelings but feels that he should because your friend Yugi is head over heels in love with Tea and so that she can also move on, am I right?"

"That's pretty much it right there," confirmed Tristan with a nod. The trio were sitting quite comfortably in the sitting room of the Game Shop, awaiting the arrival of the others. Yami had taken Tea outside for a quiet word, which had sparked Tyson and Ray's curiosity. "I kinda feel sorry for Tea, but she needs to know. Though, I wouldn't want to be Yami at this point…"

"How come?" asked Ray tentatively.

"YAMI, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Both Ray and Tyson flinched at the emotional outburst from Tea while Tristan sat shaking his head. As the door opened, Ray and Tyson could not help but gasp at Yami. He was covered flour and was holding his head as he took a seat. As the hand was removed an angry red mark could be seen on his forehead and he had a slightly dazed look about him.

"Yami, what happened?" blurted out Tyson after sitting in silence for a while.

Yami sighed and then answered. "I told Tea the truth, nothing more. She didn't take it too well: I first found flour being thrown at me and the next thing I know, I have a frying pan in my face."

Ray and Tyson both sucked in a breath at hearing the reaction. Tristan stood up and went to console Tea; he and Joey had prepared a speech for when Yami finally confessed so he knew what to do. The other three could hear sobbing next door as well as Tristan giving Tea some reassuring words. Yami attempted to brush off the flour, but he only succeeded in rubbing it further into his clothes. He sighed in defeat and slumped into the chair before the door bell chimed away. Yami dragged his tired form out of the chair and answered the door. He was surprised at who he saw. "Yugi?"

"Yami, what the hell happened to you?" asked Yugi worriedly.

"Tea was just given the bad news," replied Yami with a shrug.

"So she just found out that you are gay," surmised Joey.

"Please don't tell me that she has a problem with gay guys," hissed a voice from behind. Yami's crimson eyes drifted past Yugi and Joey towards their companions. He first saw a tall young man with dual-toned hair, stunning amethyst eyes and a breathtaking physique. In many ways he was reminded of Kaiba when looking at him, and he found it a little eerie. His eyes continued on and Yami's breath almost hitched when his sight was met with a spiky mass of blonde hair and soft blue eyes. A skin tight green t-shirt showed off his well toned chest and arms while tight black jeans hugged his legs and showed off their incredible shape. Yami had to tear his eyes away from the beauty before he made a move he would truly regret.

"No she doesn't Max, don't worry. It's just that she's had a crush on Yami for ages so it was always going to be explosive when she was told there would never be anything between them," answered Yugi as he attempted to stifle a giggle. Yami's change in demeanour would be unnoticeable to all the others, but it was obvious to Yugi. Yugi followed the line of sight and was unsurprised to see it ended with Max. His smile broadened. Maybe Yami could finally find some peace about his sexuality with their new arrivals.

"Phew…that's good, otherwise I'd be voicing my opinion on the matter."

"I think it's pretty clear what your view on it is, Max," chuckled Kai. Joey stepped past Yami and went to help Tristan with Tea. Now that Joey no longer in the way, Yami could see that there was one more person in the vicinity.

"Kaiba, what are you doing here?" Yami's tone was not accusing, but just simply curious.

Max and Yugi spun around while Kai suppressed a growl. "Has curiosity got the better of you, Kaiba?" asked Yugi.

Joey heard the conversation and ran back to the door. "Get out of here, money-bags, you aren't welcome here!"

"Zip it, mutt," hissed Kaiba. Though he would not ever admit it, he was curious as to who the new arrivals were.

Joey crossed his arms and grinned smugly. "Well, doesn't matter seeing as you won't be let it."

Max looked from the argument to Kai, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Kai…?" he tried asking tentatively. Kai snapped out of his daze almost instantly at the slight tremor in Max's voice. "You okay? You aren't going all quiet on me, are you?"

Kai shook his head. "No, but I'm thinking about what Joey just said."

"About Kaiba not getting in?"

"No…" Kai leant down and whispered to Yugi. "Yugi, why does Joey call Kaiba 'money-bags'?"

"Oh, that's easy. Kaiba owns one of the biggest companies in the world."

Kai's ears perked up in interest. "What kind of company?"

"It specialises in gaming."

"So they are scientifically orientated?"

"Er…yeah, I guess you could say they are."

Kai grinned. "Let him in."

Everyone else spun round in surprise. Kai had to stifle a laugh at Kaiba's shocked expression. Joey, who was dumbfounded, took a couple of seconds to stutter out a sentence. "Wh…Why?"

"He might prove useful. Besides, I'm guessing you wouldn't have much choice in the matter if he wants to find out who we are. I get the feeling he would just barge in anyway."

Kaiba snorted disapprovingly, but was livid at being so obvious to Kai. _Just who is this guy? No-one else can read me so easily, or rile me like he can. He reminds me of…myself._

Kai strode inside with Max close behind. They climbed the stairs and entered the sitting room, where both were relieved to see some familiar faces inside. "Yo Ty, Ray!" chirped Max.

"Max! Kai! You two are all right!" exclaimed Tyson as he ran up to give Max a hug. Ray simply stood and gave Kai a pat on the back.

"Oh Sorry, did we not say that earlier?" Tyson shot a half-hearted glare at Kai, who simply shrugged. Tyson chuckled shortly after. Although Kai's sarcasm was rather new, it was welcome.

"Any idea what happened, Kai?"

Kai shook his head. "Not right now, but I should find out when I look over all the data from the Vortex Generator."

"It's good that we're at least all in one piece. Hopefully what is left of our world will still be too."

"What is left of your world?" All the Rescuers turned to Yugi. Everyone was now assembled in the living room and all their interests were piqued. "What do you mean by that, Max?"

The four teens looked between each other before Kai sighed deeply, and then answered.

"Take a seat and we will explain."

Yugi, Tea and Tristan sat on one sofa while Yami and Joey sat on the other. Ray and Tyson grabbed two lone chairs and sat on them, with Tyson turning his one the wrong way round so to rest his head on the back. Kai grabbed the lone armchair and took residence with Max plopping down on the arm and resting back against the older teen. Kai nudged him a little so to make sure his shoulder would still have some feeling in it before allowing the blonde to make himself comfortable. Yugi and Joey looked on with smiles while the other three were slightly stunned at the display. Kaiba leant on the doorframe leading back downstairs and kept his attention firmly on Kai. The dual-haired teen was continuing to unsettle him and he wanted to keep him in his sights to protect himself.

"All right, where to start…?" mused Tyson.

"How about you keeping your trap shut?" teased Kai. Max giggled while Ray gave a deep laugh. Tyson shot Kai a glare, who had a smug grin on his face. "I guess explaining a bit more about ourselves would be in order."

"My name is Ray, I am currently 18 and I come from a small village in a mountainous region originally. I met this lot about 4 years ago."

"I'm Tyson and I'm 17."

"I'm Max and I'm the youngest at 16. Sourpuss behind me-Ow!" Kai had shoved an elbow into Max's back at being given the 'affectionate' nickname. Max playfully elbowed him back in the side, causing Kai to wince slightly while laughing quietly. "Kai is the oldest at 18 and is nearly 19. He is our leader."

"The four of are commonly known as 'The Rescuers' back in our world," continued Kai, "and we are responsible for making sure the survivors of our world make it to safety."

"What happened?" asked Yugi.

"Two years ago, our world was ripped apart by a series of natural disasters. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons…you name it, it happened. All of it in the space of 1 minute 30 seconds."

"Have the six of you ever heard of something called 'The World Soul'?" All those sitting shook their heads while Kaiba blatantly ignored the question. "The World Soul is the living spirit of the Earth which resides in human vessel. It stays inside the vessel until it dies, and then disappears back into the Earth before claiming a new body. The one problem is that certain elements in the air are toxic to the Soul, and if it is left in the air for too long, the world will literally be ripped by all these events."

"That is what happened to us. A group known as 'The Crusaders' killed the vessel and tried to extract the World Soul for their own purposes. They have developed a sort of holding cell which will allow them to control the World Soul, without it deteriorating. That is what they are after."

"So…what happened?" asked Joey.

"Kai stopped them. He fought them off and allowed the World Soul to escape into a new body. That 1 minute 30 seconds resulted in all the devastation of our world. We named it 'Exposure'. Unfortunately…" Max turned back to Kai, whose eyes were flooded with guilt and anger. "4 billion people were killed in that time."

"WHAT?" Almost everyone exclaimed in surprise, the only one not to being Kaiba, who was dismissing it all as a lie. _This sounds exactly like all their pharaoh crap with Yami not long ago. I knew coming here was a waste of time._

"Yeah. Since then, the Crusaders have been rounding up people to build something. Nobody knows what, but Kai suspects it is a device to track the World Soul. If they find it again, they will be able to control everything, else shall destroy it."

"I could have saved all of them, but I was too slow. I felt responsible, so that is why I set up the Rescuers. These three wouldn't let me do it alone, so they joined me."

"Well we were hardly going to leave you after all we had been through," added Max, who then promptly snuggled into Kai more. The older teen could only chuckle at the innocent attempt of comforting him. He may not have appreciated the physical showing of affection beforehand, but he did now.

"So what is the 'Vortex Generator' you were talking about before?"

"The Vortex Generator is something that Kai came up with at the start of the war with the Crusaders. It allows you to go back in time, though when we stepped through, we came here instead."

"Why were you trying to go back in time?"

"To stop the Crusaders before they found that little girl. She was only 8 years old, and she was the World Soul; totally oblivious to how important she was, and because of that, there was no-one there to help her. If we can stop Exposure, then we can fight the Crusaders on a level playing field. Right now, we are dedicating all our resources to rescuing others and cannot afford to go after them."

"So, that's basically our story. There are more details…but they can wait."

Everyone sitting had their mouths hanging open in total shock. "I know it is a lot to take in, but that is who we are," reassured Ray.

"What a load of crap."

Max wisely sat up to avoid being caught in Kai's sudden rise to his feet. Attention was split between he, and the one who had spoken: Kaiba. The tension was intense, and everyone was on edge at seeing the furious glare being shared. Ice met ice in a fierce collision. Tyson and Ray were most shocked at seeing Kai's reaction: it had been years since they had seen him acting so cold, and it brought back painful memories for them.

"What did you just say, Kaiba?" hissed Kai angrily, eyes no longer their usual amethyst colour. They were instead black with rage.

A tense silence descended as Kaiba pushed off from the wall and came face-to-face with Kai. "You heard me. You are lying."

* * *

_Alliance: DO NOT END IT THERE!_

Why? I want to leave it as a cliffhanger. Don't worry, I won't leave it to long before updating, as long as you promote my profile.

_Alliance: DONE! Negative Angel currently has a vote going on her profile page for the next title to be released! There are nine there, and synopses are all present on her page. PLEASE VOTE! THE MORE VOTES SHE RECEIVES, THE FASTER SHE WILL UPDATE!_

Thank you Alliance, you get a waffle with whipped cream.

_Alliance: YAY! (runs away with waffle to add chocolate chips)_

PLEASE REVIEW! I WILL UPDATE FASTER DEPENDANT ON THE NUMBER OF VOTES FOR THE POLL ON MY PROFILE, SO GET TO IT!


	5. The Princes Collide

Woohoo! I'm back in business!

_Alliance: What took you so long?_

University screwed up big style so I've been playing catch up with my assignments. Only just back on terms, which means it is back to writing.

I must say a special thank you to everyone who has been adding my story, but not that many people have been reviewing. PLEASE REVIEW! **The more reviews I get, plus more poll votes I get equals faster updates!**

_Alliance: Speaking of her poll, __**it is a tie for first place at the moment! Every vote counts!**_

Okay, I suppose I should move back to the story, Alliance, care to help out?

_Alliance: Nope, I've done my bit, so you want me to do anymore you have to pay me another £10._

And there I thought you were in a good mood. Oh well…I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters.

Back to business!

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Princes Collide**

All the witnesses sucked in a nervous breath as they bore witness to the argument about to begin. Sapphires and amethysts could not have been wielded any more fiercely than they current were and the thought of being on the wrong end of either glare sent chills down everyone's spines. Yami, Tristan and Tea were watching Kaiba nervously, hoping that the CEO would not totally fly off the handle and launch at Kai. It did not take a genius to realise that something about the blue-haired teen antagonized Kaiba greatly. Yugi and Joey kept switching between the pair, just waiting for the explosion about to come. Things had been frosty between the CEO and their new acquaintance since their meeting so they knew it wouldn't be too long before things came to a head. Tyson and Ray's gaze was fixed on Kai and they were hoping that the something would diffuse things soon. If there was one thing they found painful to watch, it was seeing Kai spiral back into the cold individual he was before. It had happened once before and that had almost destroyed him. Tyson tore his eyes away from Kai for the briefest of moments and switched his gaze to Max, though he wished he hadn't the moment he had met the blue eyes.

Max's eyes were filled with dread and concern. He knew Kai had been on edge since their arrival, and their conversation just before arriving at the Game Shop had almost made him sick with fear…

* * *

"_Kai, talk to me…"_

"_There's nothing else to say Max."_

"_Yes there is! You are struggling with something emotionally and I can help you!" The blonde stepped in front of his best friend defiantly, refusing to let him pass until he got some answers. "Don't shut me out…I can help-"_

"_No you can't!" Max almost jumped at the ferocity of Kai's outburst, but his heart felt like hitting the floor when he saw the tears in Kai's eyes. Amethysts disappeared behind their lids as Max began to piece the truth together._

"_You're afraid, aren't you? You are scared of falling in love again…"_

"_Can you blame me after last time? I opened my heart to someone, and they almost killed me. Would you be so willing to leave yourself that vulnerable when you have been betrayed before?"_

"_Kai…you couldn't have seen it coming…none of us did-"_

"_Caring for someone almost resulted in me destroying our world, Max! I won't let myself be so blinded again, nor will I be so weak."_

_Kai walked past the blonde but then froze at the whisper from behind him. "I guess you haven't learned after all…"_

"_What?" Kai spun back only to find himself in the reverse of the position he was in only moments before. Now he was watching Max's eyes fill with tears, but he blue eyes were fixed to the floor._

"_I thought you finally had realised that trusting others can make you stronger! Kai, don't you trust me? Don't you care for me?"_

_The blue-haired teen sighed. "Of course I do, Max. I didn't mean it like that…" Max's eyes lifted from the ground to meet the amethysts, but he gasped at what he saw. Deep sadness, hurt, betrayal…he could see it all threatening to bubble over and consume him. "I don't want to go back to what I was before. I am not going to risk returning to that cold, heartless being I became after she showed me who she really was. After…" Kai had to suck in a deep breath before finishing. "After she tried to kill me…"_

"_Kai…we didn't know she was one of the Crusaders. She fooled us all. We won't let you slip away into that depressed and, dare I say it…insane person you were."_

_Kai couldn't help but chuckle darkly. "Did you actually just call me insane?"_

_Max laughed lightly, glad that Kai had taken the statement the right way. "Well I think anyone would call you insane after you went and set up the Rescuers on your own, fully intending to take down the Crusaders single-handed."_

_Kai joined in Max's quiet laughter. "You know, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't have taken that in such good spirit."_

"_Well, it may have been the first time I've called you insane, but I've sure called you an idiot often enough."_

"_Like I said, good thing you say it. If it were anyone else, they would be in the firing line."_

"_Let's hope for everyone's sake that no-one pisses you off in the near future then!"_

* * *

Max could not have been more on edge at that moment. He could see that Kai was ready to snap then despite his appearance, but how deeply it would affect him was what was unknown. Max could only hope it would be a superficial wound from which he could recover easily.

"You are calling us all liars?" questioned Kai icily while taking a step closer to the CEO.

"Well it is plain that you are all lying, or you are all insane," growled Kaiba while pushing away from the doorframe he was leaning on. "Personally I would say it is the latter."

Kai's fist clenched at his side while he continued to close the gap. "It seems you lack quite a bit of common sense, for calling the rest of my team, let alone me insane, is a dangerous move."

"Really?" sneered Kaiba, his trademark smirk settling on his face. "All I see is a teenager thrown into the deep end, struggling back up to the surface and throwing around threats as an attempt to assert some authority. I would like to see you back up your words for once."

Tyson and Ray sucked in a breath quickly while Max turned away, just waiting for Kai to snap. When no answer came, he chanced a look at his best friend and had to suppress a gasp. No-one else would be looking towards Kai's hand, but if they had, they would see it trembling. Max could see that Kai was afraid of something, but what it was, he couldn't tell.

As Kai kept his gaze locked with that of Kaiba, his mind and heart were racing at 100mph. _Why is he getting to me so much? Curse you heart, why could I not keep you locked away? Could you stay silent and allow me to rebuild myself before you throw yourself at someone else? Why now…and why HIM? Do you like the idea of someone who used to be as stuck-up, arrogant, cold and heartless as I was? I can't let this break me…I've fought for too long to lose myself now. I won't let you win…the heart is what makes you most vulnerable and I will not leave myself that exposed ever again. YOU HEAR ME? NOW STAY SILENT UNTIL I FINISH WHAT I STARTED!_

As if his heart was listening to him, it slowed down to a reasonable pace. Kai sucked in a deep breath as a thought struck him. A cruel smirk played across his face, which caught everyone's attention. Kaiba simply raised an eyebrow at Kai as the blue-haired teen made his move. "Well then…I will show you," purred the smaller man.

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba suddenly felt on edge. He did not like the tone that Kai had adopted. For the first time, he felt like he might lose this fight between them.

"Yugi kindly informed me earlier that you run a gaming company. I am surmising, as such, that you would have laboratories for testing your products."

"Get to the point already," snapped Kaiba; willing Kai to show his hand so he could wipe that smug expression off his face.

Kai's smug grin widened as he folded his arms. "Give me one of those laboratories, and I will rebuild the Vortex Generator: thus prove our story."

"WHAT?" exclaimed Tyson, Ray and Max all at once. That was the last thing they had been expecting from Kai.

Kaiba himself was taken aback. "You cannot be serious? You expect me to hand over one of my laboratories to you: a punk that happened to bump into me in the street and claims he comes from another world, just to prove a point?"

"Of course, seeing as it means it will get rid of us. If not, I guess we will have to make ourselves comfortable. Are you that objected to staying here guys?" he called backwards, counting on at least one of his friends to catch onto his plan.

As usual, Max read his mind fairly quickly. He leant back into the armchair more and adjusted himself, feigning an attempt at becoming more comfortable. "Sure, I could get pretty used to this," chimed the blonde. Kai had to suppress a proud smile at Max's act, while he noticed Yugi's eyes twinkling mischievously. Clearly the tri-haired teen had caught on.

"What about you, Yugi? Would you mind the four of us crashing here for a while, until we find our own place?" continued Kai, paying close attention to the CEO subtly.

"No problem, it would be great to have you guys."

"Looks like we will have get used to a new home, not that I'm complaining," finished Max.

That did it.

Kaiba growled loudly, causing Kai to turn his attention back to him with a triumphant smirk plastered on his face. "Fine, go ahead and take it! The sooner you four get out of my lives, the better!" Kaiba then stomped away angrily, but snapped back around to leave one final remark. "The faster I see the back of _you…_" he paused as he waited for Kai to acknowledge his words. The amethysts met sapphires strongly, but Kaiba could notice their strength was forced. He held back a smug grin as he moved in for the final blow.

"…the faster you can go back to being the bane of someone else's existence."

Kaiba ignored the furious glare in the back of his head as he sauntered out, but had he looked back, he would have been surprised at its source. Kai stood like a statue, staring out the door while Max walked up behind him, wrapping his arms around Kai's waist comfortingly and propping his head on the taller man's shoulder. The blue eyes slowly returned to normal; it had been a long time since Max had used such a look anyone, not that it did any good seeing as Kaiba hadn't seen it. All could see Kai visibly relax: so much so that he almost looked like he had gone completely limp. "Kai…" asked Tyson quietly, concerned for his well-being. When the older teen dropped his eyes to the floor, Tyson got his answer: Kaiba's words had got to him.

"Kai, ignore him. Kaiba's is the biggest asshole you can get," stated Joey bluntly. Tristan nodded from the other side of the room.

"Kai, I meant what I said back there. You four can stay here as long as you like, it will be a little cramped seeing as we have only one spare room. There is a double bed in there so two of you can fit if you don't mind sharing, while the others can sleep in here," said Yugi steadily, hoping that the teen could hear him.

"Thanks Yugi, we appreciate it," answered Max while giving Yugi a small smile. He quickly turned his attention back to his best friend, who was zoned out. "Kai…"

* * *

_Crouching behind a boulder, he could do nothing but watch as her last breath left her tiny body. She was surrounded by four others, three of which were unknown to him, but the fourth he knew all too well. It was the one person who had melted his iced heart, who had stolen his thoughts, and dictated his life nowadays. If only he had known…_

_He was thrown to the ground as earthquakes erupted nearby. His gaze spun back to the girl, and his breath nearby hitched in his throat. A white shimmer was suspended in the air and clearly struggling to break free of a constricting grip just above her body. __The World Soul…I should have listened to that monk sooner. How could she do this? Does she not know what she has just done? Unless…no…no, she can't be a Crusader, I would have seen it. Surely I would have…_

_How could I be so stupid? Why did I allow myself to believe her lies of love?_

_He raced from behind the boulder and tackled one of the men. As the thug tumbled to the ground, he grabbed the thug's gun from his back pocket and shot down one of the others. He quickly took cover as shots rained down on him. He struggled to keep his footing due to the force of the quakes, but he only needed his aim. Drawing on all his skills, he leapt from behind the boulder and soared through the air; shooting down both the remaining thugs dead before returning to his feet and sliding under some cover. He flinched away as her shots rung through the air. A quick roll and a flip back to an upright position found them each staring down the barrel of the opposite's gun._

"_I thought I had kept you out of this," she said coldly, not a hint of regret in her voice._

"_Why did you go after the World Soul?" he probed: need for answers overpowering all else. He did not notice the quakes increasing in ferocity as the Soul remained suspended in the air._

"_The World Soul is what we have sought for hundreds of years. It is the ultimate weapon, and can be used to ensure our supremacy."_

"_So it's true…"_

"_Yes, I am a Crusader."_

"_Why?"_

"_Why? Who looks upon this world and is not disgusted by the corruption and manipulation which can be seen in every corner? We can start it over and make it better! We can control them all! Join me…"_

"_How?"_

"_How what?_

"_How could I not see?"_

"_You were never looking at me. You suspected all those around you, keeping your eyes on them, but never me. You always kept your prying gaze away, and as such, it was easy to act the part." He had to fight back the tears threatening to break through. "Join me Kai, come with me, and we can rule over them all!"_

_Kai's eyes narrowed with a strength she had never seen before. "No-one deserves such control Crystelle. This quest for power has made you mad!"_

_Crystelle's eyes darkened swiftly. "Shame, you really were good company."_

_A gunshot rung out through the chaos as screams began to rise in volume only a few miles away._

'_That takes care of the bane of my existence...'_

* * *

Remembering the sound of the shot snapped Kai out of his daze, much to the relief of those around him. Max hugged him tighter as he felt the trembling throughout the taller teen's frame. Kai panted for a few more seconds before nodding to the blonde that he was fine. "If you all don't mind…I think I need some time alone." Kai started walking away but Max swiftly followed and grabbed his arm: searching his eyes for the truth. When he realised that his best friend did indeed need some time alone, Max released his grip and sorrowfully let him go, but never let his gaze leave Kai's hand, which continued to shake: from fear or anger it was not clear.

Max suspected it was both.

Joey finally broke the tense silence which had descended over the room. "What shook Kai so much?"

Max sighed deeply before turning back to them all. Even Tyson and Ray did not know the full truth of what had happened that fateful day, but it seemed now was the time for Max to reveal all he knew.

"Sit down and I'll clarify."

* * *

_Alliance: Not another cliffhanger!_

Sorry, but I want to keep interest up!

**Next update scheduled for 14****th**** November, but it will be reduced by one day for every review and poll vote I receive from now! **

See you next time, which will hopefully be soon!


	6. Alarming Discovery

_Alliance: Woohoo! Chapter is up early!_

Of course, I said I would update 1 day early for every poll vote and review I receive, which I have stuck to. THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO VOTED AND REVIEWED!

_Alliance: __**A policy which still stands everyone! For review and vote on her poll on her profile, updates will come one day early!**_

Thank you Alliance. Had enough of annoying me already?

_Alliance: Nah, I figured I would butter you up so you wouldn't expect this._

Wha…? AACCCKK! (trap door opens and Angel disappears)

_Alliance: Don't worry, I'll bring her back for the next chapter; I just wanted to get back at her for setting Edge (the pet jaguar) on me before. Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters, as much as she wishes she does. I think I'll let you all see the chapter now._

* * *

**Chapter 5: Alarming Discovery**

"And that is as much as I know about it," finished Max. He looked around and could see many people were stunned into silence. Tea and Tristan both sat perfectly still: almost appearing statuesque, Yugi and Yami both sat wide-eyed while Joey's mouth was hanging open in shock. Max glanced towards his friends only to find even they were speechless. Though they may have known some of the story, what Max had brought to light explained much more of the changes in Kai, and also showed how little they had known about the whole picture previously.

Joey was the first to snap out of his stupor. "So let me get this straight…Kai fell for this girl, but it turned out she was a Crusader and she then went after the World Soul. Kai tried to stop her, but in saving the Soul she almost killed him?"

Max sighed deeply before answering him. "Yeah, and even I don't know everything that happened that day. We were told he had been found with a bullet in his head about half an hour after Exposure had taken place. He woke up a couple of days later; after that, he slowly descended into an aggressive and distrusting person again. For a few months he would disappear for hours, sometimes even days, on end and not tell us anything about where he had been. It was a very difficult 5 months for all of us."

"But after that, something changed," he continued. "He slowly opened up to us and involved us in his struggles. It was just after that he came up with the original idea of the Vortex Generator and we started actively fighting the Crusaders together. He confessed most of what happened that day to me about a year after Exposure."

"He's really suffered, though when you look at him normally, you would be none the wiser," said Tea as she came back to her senses.

"Yeah, and that is just his recent hardships: he didn't have the easiest of childhoods either," added Ray.

"Wow…" Yugi expressed his shock before going over and whispering to Yami. "Is just me or does it sound like Kai has had a hard time with life, similar to Kaiba?"

Yami nodded slightly before whispering back to his younger look-a-like. "It really is quite unsettling to see the similarities between them, but there is one clear event they share: a tumultuous childhood and a life since fraught with responsibility."

Yugi bowed his head as he heard Max walk away. "Where are you going Max?" asked Tyson.

"I'm going to go see if Kai is all right. I know coming here has shaken him, so I need to see for myself that he is handling it as well as he wants us to believe." Max slowly turned away and headed towards the spare room looking for his best friend.

Silence descended upon the room once again while all the information they had just been given was being processed. It was Joey that once again broke it. "So, what else can you guys tell us about yourselves?"

Tyson's eyes met Joey's while his face was blank. "Eh?"

Ray laughed heartily. "Joey wants to know more about us you idiot."

"Heeeey…just cause I'm slow doesn't make me an idiot!"

"Could've fooled me." Ray sat back with his arms folded while Tyson's eyes narrowed.

"Say that again…"

"Could've fooled-" Ray abruptly stopped his sentence as Tyson dove for him, but the older boy was too smart for that trick. He simply leant back in his chair and caught himself on the back wall before tumbling to the ground. Tyson could not stop himself from face-planting the ground after his failed lunge and collided with the carpet comically. Everyone else in the room burst into laughter while Ray chuckled away as he pushed himself back upright. "Like I said, could've fooled me. I think that takes care of what you need to know about Tyson. Now…what juicy details can I spill on Max and Kai…?"

* * *

Max knocked on the room of the spare bedroom, but received no answer. "Kai?" Truthfully, Max was worried that Kai had taken off to sort the problem out on his own more than anything, and the lack of response from his best friend just added to his concern. The blonde opened the door slowly and poked his head in. Darkness was penetrated by the dying rays of daylight from the open window. _An open window…_ Max wandered over to the window and leant out of it carefully. He glanced upwards and stretched upwards, attempting to see onto the roof. He may not have seen the roof, but he did catch sight of a familiar leg sprawled out. The blonde shook his head and smiled before clambering out to join Kai. "Mind some company?" he asked light-heartedly.

"Depends on the quality," answered Kai with a straight face.

"Well it's just me, so that do you?"

"In that case, no."

"Oi!" Kai couldn't help but laugh at Max's mock offended face. "You know, you can be quite hurtful sometimes, Kai."

"Sure I can, and that is why you and I are best friends."

"I still can't really believe it sometimes."

"You and me both, Maxie." Kai smiled fondly at Max and shifted over so that the younger teen could join him. "What brings you up here?"

"I was wondering if you were okay."

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Kai, you were badly shaken earlier. Are you sure you are all right?"

"Yeah, I've just refocused my thinking. I've got to get started on the second Vortex Generator soon and I will need to analyse the data from the first journey to see what went wrong."

"Do you know have any ideas what happened?"

"None at the moment, but I will figure it out soon."

Max's eyes drifted down to the roof tiles as he asked the biggest question at that time. "Do you really want to go back?"

Kai looked at Max sadly before his gaze too fell to the tiles. "I don't have a choice personally. You three could stay here if you wanted."

"WHAT? Kai, do you know what you just said?"

"Max, it's my fault that our world is in the sorry state it is, the least I can do is try and make amends."

"Kai, you've been doing that for the past two years! Stop punishing yourself for something you couldn't have seen coming!"

"I couldn't have stopped it, you are right about that much." _But I could have saved so many more lives…_

"Then why do you continue to beat yourself up about it? Kai, please tell me…"

Kai looked up again and met with the soft blue eyes of Max. He looked into them deeply and could see only concern. He sighed and turned away sharply. "I have other responsibilities too, Max, and please do not ask me about them because you wouldn't understand, and you would be put in greater danger were you to know. Just trust me on this one, Max."

Max looked long and hard at Kai, but saw he was speaking the truth. The blonde just smiled and turned his gaze to the sunset ahead. "You've always had a love of sunsets, haven't you?"

"It signified another day survived when I was younger. I had a fear that every sunset I saw might be my last, and I had to sneak out of the compound to even see it."

"Do you still hold that fear now?"

"…"

"Kai?"

"…It may not always be so prominent in my mind, but I suppose it is still there…"

* * *

Morning rays broke through the Game Shop windows, much to the disgust of all inside. Tea, Tristan and Joey had stayed over the night, sleeping in the living room with Tyson and Ray while Kai and Max had taken the spare room. The duo never returned to join the others, so they simply presumed they had gone to sleep, unaware that they had spent most of the night up on the roof reminiscing about their past experiences. It had only gone an hour since they had elected to sleep, and they would come to regret that decision soon.

Tyson grumbled deeply as sunlight streamed onto his face and made to turn away, but forgot that he was sleeping on a couch. He tumbled off the couch and ended up landing full force on the slumbering Tristan. The brunette yelped and kicked out wildly, stunning Tyson out of his sleep, who then fell back onto another mass: a blonde one which started squirming wildly. Tyson screeched as he felt teeth connecting with his hand and proceeded to bolt through to the bathroom. A grumpy Ray and a very disgruntled Tea then sat up and assessed the situation through bleary eyes. Tristan was on his feet looking around frantically for who landed on him while Joey was cleaning his teeth of the blood he had managed to accidentally draw. "What the hell you two?" growled Tea angrily.

"Something jumped on me!" protested Joey, not appreciating being handled the full blame.

"And something tried to crush me! Whatever it was, it weighed a ton!" added Tristan quickly.

"That'll have been Tyson then," muttered Ray and he got to his feet.

"Oh, so that's what I bit…"

"JOEY! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" screeched Tyson from the bathroom.

"Sorry man, didn't realise you were someone friendly. Can't be too careful, ya know?" shouted back Joey.

"What is going on here?" demanded Yugi as he stormed into the living room having been rudely disturbed from his sleep. Yami was standing behind him looking just as annoyed while the rather alert looking duo of Max and Kai were lingering in the background.

"Tyson decided to crush me and things just kinda went off from there…"

"So what was all the shouting for?"

"BECAUSE JOEY BIT ME! HE EVEN DREW BLOOD!"

"Suck it up, Tyson, you've been shot before and not whinged about it as much as this!" pointed out Kai. Tyson could not help but blush as he came back into the room. After all, Kai was telling the truth.

"Sorry Tyson, I don't appreciate being woken up suddenly…" apologised Joey sheepishly.

"Ya think?"

"Guys, cut it out. Now, I'm going down for some breakfast and I don't want to hear any more of this. Understand?" All offenders nodded as Yugi stormed away, clearly in the worst mood of all of them at being woken so suddenly. Max laughed lightly while Kai chuckled inwardly: despite his size, Yugi could get his views across when he wanted to. The duo followed Yami as he descended downstairs and helped themselves to some coffee. Max sat down at the breakfast bar while Kai leant against one of the doors. Their attention was caught by Yami having a fight with the toaster nearby; apparently it didn't like Yami very much as it was not letting him have his, now burnt, toast. Yugi stepped in and unplugged the appliance, which ended the caper. Yami retrieved his toast, gave the toaster a small glare before proceeding to eat the charcoal piece. Max simply stared at Yami as he took a seat next to him. "It happens regularly Max, so Yami is used to the taste of ash."

Max giggled and swiftly blushed when he felt Yami's intense gaze upon him. The blonde looked away and began concentrating on his coffee, but his face went scarlet as he chanced another glance at the former pharaoh and found the staring had not stopped. Kai suppressed a laugh at Max's expense as it was cute to see him so flustered. Not only that, but he knew Max wasn't minding too much.

The doorbell distracted all individuals and Yugi soon answered it. "Hi Yugi! I have something for a friend of yours!"

"Mokuba? What are you doing here?"

Kai and Max shared a confused glance as Yami quickly rose to join his other half. "Mokuba is Kaiba's younger brother, but don't hold that fact against him. Mokuba is one of the kindest souls you will meet."

Kai was intrigued and went with Yami to the door. "My brother told me to deliver this to you as soon as possible. Apparently it is for someone you guys know?"

"What is it?"

"A key to one of the science labs at Kaiba Corp." Mokuba looked back and saw the two new attendees. "Hey Yami! And you must Kai!"

"Huh? Mokuba, how do you know that?"

"Seto was having quite the rant about you last night and he was _veeery_ descriptive."

"Seto?" questioned Kai quietly.

"Seto is Kaiba's first name. Only Mokuba calls him such."

"Hmmm. Do I even want to know what he said?"

"Well…" started Mokuba, "let's just say it was a bit weird to listen to. He was certainly letting rip about you, but, it wasn't all bad." Mokuba was going to keep some of the things he had heard his brother muttering when Kaiba thought he was out of earshot should remain private. _Though Seto was right, this guy is hot stuff! I can see why he was complaining about his looks!_

"You know what, I think this conversation should end there. Where is this key, Mokuba?"

"Here it is!" the pre-teen stretched out a hand containing a key to the dual-haired teen, who took it gladly.

"Thank you Mokuba. If you guys excuse me, I think I'll get myself ready for heading off." With that, Kai sprinted upstairs to get fully dressed.

Yugi turned back to Mokuba and beckoned the younger boy in. "Come on Mokuba, we'll introduce you to the rest of them, but I would be careful, two of them aren't morning people…"

* * *

Yugi, Yami, Tea, Joey and Tristan had been showing Max, Ray and Tyson around Domino City for most of the day. Kai had headed off as soon as he was ready and had since been working at Kaiba Corp.: a full seven hours. Mokuba had been introduced to the others with relative ease: Max had still been sitting drinking his coffee and trying to rid himself of the blush which coloured his cheeks when the pre-teen had wandered in, but that was nothing compared to the introduction for Ray and Tyson. When Mokuba had arrived upstairs, Tyson had been charging at Ray (apparently over another comment of his, ahem…lack of brain power) and had missed, once again doing a face-plant: this time in the wall. That had certainly brought an amount of cheer to everyone's morning.

Mokuba had left after a couple of hours and the remaining eight-some had journeyed into the city to view the sights. It had not long gone past 3pm when Max's phone went off: an incoming call from Kai.

"Kai, have you been working this entire time?" questioned Max as soon as he answered the call.

"_Not even a hello? That's some greeting Max…"_

Max giggled. "Sorry Kai, but you still haven't answered my question."

Kai could be heard sighing. _"I have been working this whole time, and I have found something."_

"Really? You know what happened?" Max switched onto speakerphone so that the others could hear the conversation.

"_Pretty much. I was going over the data from the journey and everything worked as it should have done: the Vortex Generator worked."_

"So how did we end up here…?"

"_While I was looking through the schematics, I found a rogue component, one I hadn't built nor added."_

"Which means?"

"_Which means someone sabotaged the Vortex Generator. I don't think our journey here was an accident at all. Someone intended for this to happen, and I can think of only one set of suspects."_

"No…you can't mean…?"

"_I think this part of an elaborate Crusader plot to claim another world. We may have just brought all our troubles through with us."_

* * *

_Alliance: Damn, she ended it there! Oh well, she had scheduled her next update for __**28**__**th**__** November, but it will be advanced for every poll vote and review!**_

(from bottom of pit) PLEASE REVIEW! SHE WILL LET ME OUT OF HERE! Eventually…


	7. Introducing The Crusaders

I cannot believe you…

_Alliance: What?_

YOU DELETED THE POLL ON MY PROFILE!

_Alliance: Hey, it was an accident!_

I don't care, you were screwing around with my profile anyway, so YOU ARE DEAD!

_Alliance: Oh SHIIIIIT! (runs away frantically)_

(sigh)…Sorry folks, somebody decided she would mess up my works and (accidentally I will give her) deleted my poll, so I have started it again, with one new addition. **PLEASE VOTE! For every person that votes, my update is brought forward one day!**

Okay, seeing as I left you all on such a cliffhanger last time, I think I will put you out of your misery.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Introducing – The Crusaders**

Max quickly paled a few shades, which sent alarm bells ringing in the heads of the others. Max was not one to react to news so suddenly. "Max…?" asked Tyson tentatively.

"Kai, please tell me you are kidding. That can't possibly be true," stuttered out the blonde. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed as they detected the fear in his voice.

Kai too noticed it and sighed on the other end of the phone. _"I wish I was Max, believe me. There is a tiny little piece inside the heart of the Vortex Generator which I wouldn't have noticed unless I had been specifically looking for it. As I was looking over the data, everything seemed to be right until I saw one line of the calculation which looked odd. I worked through it and figured out it was the key to changing the Generator from going back in time, to jumping between universes. Sounds complex, I know, but once you figure out how to alter one out of either time or reality, it isn't that difficult to tamper with the other. Once I saw that alteration, I looked for any physical additions in the Generator, and found this little chip."_

"So that thing is what sent us here?"

"_Yes, and there is a definite elegance it: it was specifically developed for altering the purpose of the Vortex Generator. Which means that someone I had drafted in for help must have had some form of contact with the Crusaders."_

"Someone betrayed us?"

"_Not necessarily. All three of the people I was in contact with had good reasons to despise the Crusaders; no, I think it is more likely that one of them had family in one of the camps and they were promised to have them returned."_

"Sounds like a trick the Crusaders would pull. I wonder if-" Max was silenced by a deafening crash on the other side of the line. He quickly realised that it sounded dangerously close to lightning.

"Kai?" Silence. "Kai! Come on, Kai, answer me!" Max breathed a deep sigh of relief when he heard groaning, but grew more concerned when that was replaced by an intense session of swearing. "Kai, what the hell happened?"

"_Shit this hurts like a bitch. A freak electric wave just came out from the base output generator and struck me in my right shoulder. Fuck…this thing hurts more than being shot!"_

"Are you all right?"

"_Yeah, just feeling like killing someone at the moment. Either that or causing severe damage to whatever caused that to happen."_

"It wasn't accidental?"

"_No, the generator isn't hooked up to any power source currently. Wait a minute…" _Max could hear some rustling in the background along with the clatter of a few inanimate objects. No doubt Kai was trying to stop himself from destroying something valuable, but everything else was victim to his current foul mood. _"I was afraid of this…"_

"What is it?"

"_That bolt of electricity was a discharge of subspace radiation using static electricity in the air as a conduit."_

"Translation please?"

Kai sighed on the other end. _"It means that was a side effect to a universal tear: one that can only be generated by inter-universal travel."_

"Was it from us?"

"_No, it is an instantaneous reaction."_

"Do you mean…?"

"_Someone else just used the Vortex Generator of our world. The Crusaders will be here."_

"Shit…" Everyone else was looking on with worried expressions. Though they may only be able to hear half the conversation, they knew it had taken a grave turn from Max's expressions. "What should we do?"

"_You lot stay there until I arrive. DO NOT MOVE; I will be there in about fifteen minutes. After that, we can figure out what to do concerning the Crusaders."_

"Okay, where are we at the moment Yugi?"

"The South edge of Domino Park," replied said teen obediently.

"_Sit tight, I'll be there as soon as I can."_

"All right, be careful, Kai."

"_You too, Maxie. Don't go chasing any shadows."_

Kai hung up right after that. Max scoffed at the last statement: _Don't go chasing shadows, is that his cryptic way of telling me not to let my curiosity get the better of me? Why can't I be curious little me? _"Max?" Max was brought out of his musings by Tyson. "What was all that about?"

Max sighed deeply. "Cliff notes version: Our journey here was a Crusader set-up, Kai thinks they just came through and he is telling us not to do anything until he gets here. Oh, and he just got struck by lightning."

"…WHAT?" Tyson was genuinely amazed at the lack of concern in Max's face. "Are you not freaking out about this?"

"I had my mini freak out before. Besides that, there isn't much point putting much more thought into it until Kai gets here."

"I suppose, so are we just meant to wait here for him?"

"Guess so."

"Trust Kai to order us around." Tyson plonked down on a nearby wall with Ray joining him. Tea then sat next to the Chinese boy with Yugi standing next to Tyson. Joey and Tristan decided to be awkward and sat on the pavement, much to the disgust of those passing by. "Man, I swear he sometimes think he's king of the world or something."

"Well," started Ray, "his nickname has royalty in it, so maybe you aren't too far off the mark."

Tyson laughed. "Too true."

"What nickname is that?" asked Yugi.

"Wha? Oh you mean Kai's nickname?" Ray shook his head at Tyson's stupidity. "He's known as the 'Ice Prince' to quite a few people, but I guess that doesn't apply so much nowadays."

"No way! Rich-boy is known as 'Ice Prince' too!" exclaimed Joey.

"Rich-boy…?"

Ray rolled his eyes at Tyson. "That is what Joey calls Kaiba if you haven't figured it out by now, genius."

"Hey, stop picking on me just 'cause I'm slow!"

"No, I won't: I need something to amuse me."

Tyson growled while Joey laughed heartily. "What you laughing at, ya blonde!"

Joey's laughter quickly turned to anger. "What's wrong with being blonde?"

"Blondes are dumb, so you have no right to laugh at someone else as if they are stupid when you are!"

"Oi! Take that back!"

"Nope, 'cause it's the truth."

"Take it back!"

"Make me!"

Tyson and Joey were nose to nose, growling like a couple of dogs, much to the amusement of the other nearby. Ray was sitting back shaking his head, Yugi and Tea were hiding their giggling behind their hands while Tristan looking like his head was about to explode from holding back the laughter. He started going purple from holding back when he saw a certain person glaring at the two offenders. "What's the argument about you two?"

"Tyson was just dissing me as dumb 'cause I'm blonde!"

"Which is true! Blondes are dumb!"

Realisation quickly struck the pair as they recognised the voice: a voice which belonged to a now very pissed off blonde by the name of Max. Joey and Tyson both whipped around and saw the ferocious glares they were receiving. Joey at least had the sense to look away and try to disappear from embarrassment. How could he forget that Max was also blonde and not think about what he said earlier? Tyson on the other hand was more shocked by the cold look than anything, completely oblivious to the fact that he had very blatantly insulted one of his best friends. "Where did you learn to do that, M-Maxie?" he stuttered out, actually frozen in fear.

"Kai showed me a few tricks. Now, what was it you were saying about us blondes, _Dragon_?" Max hissed. Tyson recoiled quickly and looked away ashamed. He was never referred to as 'Dragon' unless he had really aggravated Max; which was difficult to do. As Tyson turned away fully, the tense atmosphere was shattered.

Tristan erupted in laughter, which then set off Yugi and Tea as well. The little trio received strange looks from the others, but soon Joey and Ray joined in. Tyson, however, felt too ashamed to do anything other than think of ways to make it up to Max later on.

Max sighed and made to storm off, but a hand on his arm stopped his progress. "Max?"

Said blonde turned to meet the alluring crimson orbs of Yami. Max found himself lost in that luscious red sea and zoned out. It took a few seconds for him to realise his state and he snapped back to reality with a light blush on his cheeks. "Uh, Yami?"

"Are you all right? I know Joey can speak without thinking sometimes, and it seems Tyson isn't much better."

Max sighed and let much of his tension drain away. "I will be. It just irritates me how inconsiderate Tyson can be."

Yami nodded and 'Hmmed' in agreement. A thought suddenly struck the former pharaoh. "Max, why did you call Tyson 'Dragon' back there? Does it have any relation to when Tyson called Kai 'Phoenix'?"

"Yeah, they are related. A few years ago, Kai and Tyson didn't exactly get on: at one point, they pretty much hated each other. Kai betrayed us once and that is where Tyson came up with 'Phoenix'. It was a way for him to address Kai without actually saying his name. Kai followed Tyson's example and started calling him 'Dragon'. Things eventually cooled off, but those names have stuck for whenever we are angry at each other. I don't usually use it seeing as it is a reminder of a time I would rather forget, but sometimes the occasion calls for it."

"So you have not always been friends?"

"No, I have been friends with Ty and Ray for about five years. Kai, that is more difficult to say: he barely took any notice of me for the first year, he then at least acknowledged I was there but he never really bothered with me. It was only after the first two years of knowing him did I earn his respect. I guess we didn't really become friends until after Exposure. We sort of bonded after that and we eventually developed the relationship we have now."

"So are you two…?"

Max looked over to Yami and saw the despondent look on his face. "Oh no! We don't have that kind of relationship! We are best friends, but more like brothers in a way. We practically know each other back to front. Nah, I would never do that kind of thing with him anyway, even though I am gay."

Yami's eyes sparked in interest. "You're gay?"

Max rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oops, kinda just blurted that out, didn't I? Yeah, I am. Kai is interested in guys too actually, more so than girls, but he's not so at ease with it as I am." Max brought his hand down and looked at Yami nervously. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Yami snapped to attention immediately. "No! God, no! The thing is…I'm gay too, I've just never met anyone else who is open about it."

Max stood with his mouth agape. "Really?"

Yami nodded. "Yeah, the only other person I think might be gay is Kaiba, call it instinct if you will, but he would never admit it and he has been with girls before, so I'm probably wrong about that."

"Nah, I think you are right." Yami looked at Max questioningly. "In my experience, limited as it may be, most of the best looking guys are gay." **AN: This is too true!**

Yami smirked. "So you think Kaiba is attractive?"

Max blushed again. "Well, yeah I'll admit he is hot as hell but I'm not attracted to him. I picture him as more Kai's type."

Yami burst out laughing at that. _Kai and Kaiba, now that would be something. _Yami turned thoughtful for a second. _Actually, I've never known someone antagonize Kaiba as much as Kai did, and I felt some sort of inner turmoil inside of him. Could it be that our CEO has feelings for him, but is afraid of them? Kai is very handsome, it wouldn't actually surprise me that if Kaiba is gay he finds him alluring. _Another thought struck Yami, and a sudden blush adorned his cheeks. "What about me?" Max looked at his questioningly. "Do you think I'm attractive?"

Max swiftly turned scarlet. "Well I-I…" Now Max had a problem. Yes he did find the former pharaoh attractive, but he wasn't sure if he wanted admit it! Max turned away subtly and let his mind click away in decision-making.

It was then he caught sight of familiar violet hair. "It can't be…"

Without a backwards glance, Max took off in pursuit.

"Max!" Yami's shout caught the attention of the rest of the group, who turned just in time to see the former pharaoh disappearing.

"What's up with them?"

* * *

_It can't be, it just can't be. _Max sped down the alley he saw the girl dive into and slowed to a walk: allowing his eyes to adjust to the new lighting level. As he searched for her, his thought spun back to Kai's last statement. _'Don't go chasing any shadows'…Damn, Kai knows me too well. What's that old saying 'Curiosity killed the cat?' Let's hope this isn't curiosity killed the Max._

Max froze when he heard a set of heels up ahead. He braced himself when he saw a silhouette turn towards him, and then gasped when she came into full view. "You bitch…"

"Nice to see you too, Max. I guess I couldn't expect a much better greeting," she sneered in response.

"You don't deserve one after what you did!"

"Well I didn't exactly finish the job so you can't go complaining much. Had I known there was any chance of him still being alive after that shot, I would have stomped on his head for good measure."

Max snarled, but soon stopped when he was called upon. "Max!" He turned around to see Yami running towards him, with Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Tyson and Ray not far behind.

As they caught up, Tyson and Ray both looked on in disbelief. "No, you can't be here…" started Ray.

"Oh really? Well, how am I here then?" she chirped back, loving every second of their discomfort.

"You're an illusion?" suggested Tyson.

"I doubt your sad little mind has that capacity, Tyson," she jibed.

"Shut it!"

"Max, who is this?" asked Yugi.

Max looked at the small teen before turning back to her. "This…is Crystelle."

All those who did not know her gasped. "This is the girl Kai fell for?" whispered Tea.

"The girl who almost killed him and who nearly drove him into insanity because of it," snapped Max angrily, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

Crystelle folded her arms triumphantly. "Well it's true I didn't kill him then and there, but it seems my luck has changed if he isn't here. Has fate finally caught up to him?"

"Shut up! How are you here?" demanded Tyson.

Crystelle laughed maniacally. "Who do you think built the chip that makes inter-universal travel possible? I did of course! Coming here was easy once Kai unlocked the secrets of time travel. I guess him surviving was good thing after all, since he gave us the key to taking over every world in existence."

"I thought you might have been behind this." Crystelle spun around lazily to face the latest addition to their little face-off, and her smile could not have been much broader.

"About time you showed here, Kai. Though I am curious, how did you find me so quickly?"

Kai smirked. "Subspace radiation. All I had to do was look for anyone in the city who was significantly radioactive. Since the radiation only lasts for three hours and you only came through about fifteen minutes ago, it was easy to find you. Our radioactivity has since disappeared."

Crystelle snorted in contempt. "I'll admit, I'm surprised you know the workings of Dimensional Physics so well."

"I had to: it was the only way to figure out the workings of time itself."

Crystelle strode towards Kai purposefully as Max watched on nervously. Though it would be invisible to the others, he could see the fear in Kai's eyes. "And so here we are again, me trying to fulfil my mission and you standing in my way."

Kai had to fight every instinct to take a step back each time she took a step forward. He was now frozen in place. "Only this time, I won't fail in stopping you." He prayed that his voice held more conviction that he feared it might.

Crystelle laughed as she came to a stop in front of him. She was only a couple of inches shorter than him, and so was actually quite fearsome to stand against. Her amber eyes clashed fiercely with amethyst, at which she noticed the small element of anxiety. She smiled cruelly before landing a devastating blow.

Max sucked in a breath as Crystelle moved in quick as a cat and captured Kai's lips in a kiss. The others looked on disbelievingly while Max twitched nervously. He knew all too well that Crystelle still had a hold over Kai, and that hold could cost them dearly. His stomach dropped when he saw Kai's eyes slip closed and Crystelle then proceeded to caress his cheek. Had he not been standing in crowd with the rest of them, he would have hurled.

Crystelle pulled away slowly and watched with satisfaction as Kai stood there shell-shocked. She grinned smugly and began walking past him, but not before whispering into his ear.

"You can't stop me, because I've already broken you."

Kai's eyes flashed open as she left a small peck on his cheek. She turned back to the rest of them with a cruel smile playing across her face. "I will see you around, Rescuers. Let's see if this time you can lose more people due to your blindness."

Tyson threw a string of curses in her direction and went to charge her down, but she vanished into the darkness of the alleyway before he had a chance. Ray settled for simply growling at her last statement. Max on the other hand had barely noticed her departure. He was more concerned for Kai.

The blonde ran the older teen and cupped his face. "Kai?" Amaranth continued to stare blankly. "Kai! Kai, please! Snap out of it!" Kai finally did snap free of his daze and started breathing erratically. "Kai?"

"We need…to get back to the Game Shop...now…" he answered raggedly.

"Wh-Why?"

Kai breathed heavily before answering. "We need to make plans before she destroys another world, and I fear she may not be the only one here. We need to stop her."

* * *

So, what did you all think of Crystelle?

**PLEASE REVIEW! EACH PERSON WHO VOTES PLUS NUMBER OF REVIEW EQUALS FASTER UPDATES BY ONE DAY FOR EACH!**

**Next update: 17****th**** December **


	8. The World Soul

_Alliance: Woohoo! New chapter!_

…

_Alliance: What's wrong with you, sour face?_

Well, let's see. I am snowed under with Uni assignments, I haven't done my Christmas shopping, I haven't slept more than two hours for the past week or so and I am late in updating. Why wouldn't I be down?

_Alliance: You are only two days late…_

I'm still late (rain cloud bursts over Angel's head)

_Alliance: …Was not expecting her to be this depressed. Oh well, I'll take care of the disclaimer. Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. She does however own her OC's, which are few in number. Plus I will warn you she has screwed around with the laws of physics a bit, but it makes things interesting reading! She is claiming this theory as her own (though I doubt many other would want to claim it anyway)._

_Now, while you lot read her latest instalment, I'll try and cheer her up._

* * *

**Chapter 7: The World Soul**

Silence hung over the group as Max and Yami wandered back into the lounge. All eyes were fixed upon Kai who was slouched over on the sofa, arms resting upon his knees and eyes distant. The returning duo sat down either side of their pale-faced and badly shaken friend while Max handed him a cup of boiling coffee. Kai muttered his thanks and downed most of it in one go, much to the surprise of most. "Did that not hurt?" asked Joey, dumbfounded at the action.

Kai chuckled lightly. "I'm used to it by now, Joey."

"Dare I ask where that drinking technique developed?"

"Unless you want to hear about my miserable past, I would advise against it."

"I'll take your advice on that one I think. Something tells me I'll be left mentally scarred."

"There is a very real chance of that." Joey's eyes widened, at which Kai shook his head amusedly.

Max put a hand on Kai's back, which drew the attention of the elder teen. "How you doing?"

Kai sighed. "I'll live. She isn't going to break me that easily."

"Kai, I've never seen you so badly shaken before. I thought you have moved past what happened?" questioned Ray.

"Yeah Kai, what happened back there?"

The blue-haired teen let out a deep breath and sat back into the sofa. "I honestly don't know. I thought I had gotten away from my feelings concerning her, but clearly I haven't. However, that isn't our greatest problem at the moment: we need to figure out how many other Crusaders are here, as well."

Yugi's eyes widened. "How many more do you think will be here?"

"I suspect it will only be a small unit, maybe six or seven in number, but they will be some of the Crusader captains."

"Crusader captains?"

"The Crusaders are split into four different tiers: soldiers, field commanders, captains and generals. Soldiers are pretty self-explanatory, field commanders take charge of a squadron of soldiers and quite often head up operations such as city raids. Captains are an elite group of Crusaders which specialise in intelligence gathering and executions while finally the generals are the leaders of the whole group. The generals are also the most skilled of all the Crusaders in combat."

"Yikes. So what is Crystelle?" asked Joey slowly.

Kai shifted his gaze to the ground momentarily before meeting Joey's gaze. "She is one of the three generals of the Crusaders, which considering her age is an achievement."

Joey gaped. "She's in charge of the whole organisation?"

"Pretty much. She got promoted there after finding the World Soul, and despite losing it, she earned a fierce reputation. Not least for supposedly killing me…" Max grabbed Kai's hand as he tailed off at which the elder teen flashed a thankful smile. "It took them nearly half a year to realise I was still alive, but by that point she was already one of the generals and was heading up one of their biggest projects. What it is, I don't know, but I have my suspicions."

"Which are…?"

"My first thought was some kind of mental manipulative device, swaying people to the Crusader cause, but that technology has already been implemented and those who have been converted have since been added to the project, so that can't be the answer." Kai stood and began pacing around the room slowly, all eyes fixed intently upon him. "My next thought was some kind of radar designed to fix the location of Rescuer Isle. However, since arriving here, we know it can't be that as it would have taken Crystelle months to design that Dimension Chip. Our arrival here has now given me two additional theories, but one seems much more likely than the other. My first thought is a device which would jam the Vortex Generator's functions and render it useless to those who do not know the jamming frequency."

"Sounds like a pretty sound theory to me," said Tyson thoughtfully.

"No, that doesn't seem right," stated Max darkly. Eyes drifted between he and Kai as the conversation continued. "The Crusaders wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of creating the Dimension Chip and following us here if that were the case. They would have just built a duplicate Vortex Generator and blocked our own one, seeing as they had the blueprints."

"I agree with you Max, and that is why my second theory seems to be more correct, but I just pray that I am wrong." Kai walked over to the window and sat on the ledge while everyone else held a nervous breath. When he finally elaborated, the Rescuers' stomachs all hit the floor.

"I fear they may be building a device which can detect and track the World Soul."

It took everyone a couple of seconds to recover before Yami managed to form a coherent sentence. "But why go to all the bother of coming here?"

"I doubt many other worlds know of the existence of the World Souls, let alone the power they possess. As such, they are all vulnerable. Our, however, is now in hiding after being attacked once; because of that, it would be nearly impossible to be sure if their device would be working. I think they came through here because they would be able to perfect the technology, then kill the vessel and drain the Soul without anyone having the knowledge to stop them in time."

"Pretty smart plan," added Tea.

Kai nodded. "I will need to head back to Kaiba Corp. and get started on the new Vortex Generator."

"Kai, we've only just got back and you were badly shaken only a few minutes ago. Is it really so clever to go back so soon?" inquired Ray, but it was to no use as the teen was already heading out of the door.

Max bolted from the seat and caught up to him. He gripped Kai's forearm tightly and refused to let go. Soft and searching blue eyes met with strong amethyst for several seconds, and though no words were shared, the best friends had a conversation only they would understand or hear.

_This isn't a good idea, Kai._

_I know that, but this isn't just about me, Maxie. Another world is at stake and I will never forgive myself were I to let it fall too._

_You are not alone in this._

_But only I know how to get all those who don't belong here back home, and the more time we waste, the closer the Crusaders will get to finding the World Soul. Let me go Max. Please._

Max finally looked away: diverting his gaze to the floor. He sighed deeply and released his grip on Kai. The blue-haired teen lingered in the doorway and turned back when called upon by Yami. "Kai, I just had a thought. What if the Crusaders are in another world at this very moment causing trouble there?"

"That will not be happening, I am sure of it," answered Kai strongly.

"But how can you be so sure?"

Kai smirked. "Because of a little safety feature into the Vortex Generator. Back in our world, just a few months before Exposure, a theory on time travel and relativity had been published which inspired this little idea of mine. The author suggested that time travel was not a process which produced instant results, but was progressive and reacted relative to your actions."

"Translation please."

"Think of a course of time travel as points A and B. A is the point you are travelling to in the past, while B is the time you originally left. In his theory, it stated that your timeline would not alter until you had completed your journey from A to B, with events only changing once you were re-established in point B. In other words, if you screwed something up between A and B, then you could journey back to point B instantly and restart the process all over again without any consequences."

"Almost like a reset for altering time?"

"Pretty much, yeah. My safety device ensure that no-one can alter or tamper with the Vortex Generator until that journey is either completed or abandoned. Basically, the bridge between our worlds is locked open until everyone is back in their respective universes, after which the Vortex Generator can be shut down, but until then, they can't open another route, nor trap us here."

"That's a bloody brilliant invention, Kai," stated Tyson, still pretty confused but getting the general gist of it.

"I designed it to protect anyone who went back in time from being wiped form existence. While you are back in the past, time will still be moving relatively: in other words if you are gone for two years, the Vortex Generator would need to be active for two years and uninterrupted since only the working Generator is keeping your existence. Were it to be shut down, you would be caught in the wrong time with no path back and would just disappear."

"Doesn't sound too good."

Kai shook his head and laughed lightly. "Yes Tyson, it wouldn't be good."

"I have a question," began Yugi, "what would happen if you were to meet the you living in that time? I mean, wouldn't there be two versions of you going about if you were to journey into the past?"

Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Good question Yugi. The thought is that in an effort to avoid a time paradox, and thus universal collapse, the version of you that existed originally would be erased and you would have to assume their place in the timeline. This also means you lose the reset because you now exist in that past instead of 'the other you'."

"This conversation is making my head hurt," stated Joey all of a sudden.

"Me too," agree Tristan.

"And me three. How about we just drop the 'Time Dynamics' lecture and get back to the task at hand?" suggested Tea.

Everyone else laughed. "All right, well from what you said Kai, I am guessing that we will need to keep our eyes peeled for the World Soul?" surmised Max.

Kai nodded. "If we can find it, then surely the Crusaders would be able to as well. If you all start searching, I'll get back to the Vortex Generator and put an end to this."

"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow morning, and I don't want to find you've been working all night," warned Max affectionately.

"Who are you, my mother?" asked Kai sarcastically. Max simply raised an eyebrow, at which Kai got the message: _If I find you have been, I'll make you regret it. _The dual-haired teen sighed. "Fine, I'll only work for 7/8th of the night, you happy?"

Max shook his head while attempting to mask his laughter. "Why am I not surprised by that answer?"

Kai shrugged as walked away. "Because you are finally starting to understand me?"

"Kai, I don't need to understand you because you are just a glutton for punishment, simple as."

The elder teen could be heard laughing as the door shut behind him. Max turned back and sat next to Yami once again, fighting the blush threatening to spread across his cheeks when he felt the former pharaoh's intense crimson orbs upon him. After about twenty seconds of staring, Max finally couldn't stand it anymore. "WHAT?" he exclaimed, much to Yami's amusement.

"Kai might have been onto something you know. You are a bit like a mother hen," answered Yami casually.

Max leant back with a scoff. "You would be too if you knew Kai. God knows that guy doesn't take care of himself and would work himself to death if I wasn't on his case."

Yami laughed inwardly. _He sounds exactly like Kaiba…Wait a minute! _"Max, how much of the stuff involved with the Vortex Generator involves an understanding of time?"

"Well, I think only the calculations really need it, and Kai already has them with him. He just needs to reconstruct the Generator from the blueprints, but on his own I think it will take quite a while. Why?"

"Because I think I know someone who could help Kai out, and his natural curiosity will lead him to helping I am sure. All he will need is some gentle persuasion…"

* * *

A loud buzzing and ringing on the desk startled Kai awake. He groaned at the phone and almost felt like throwing against a wall, but his self-restraint kicked in (as always) and he instead settled for answering the thing to stop the incessant noise. "Wh…What?" he grumbled.

_"Morning sunshine!" _chirped Max. Kai simply growled at Max's happiness and hung up in disgust.

No less than three seconds later, there it was again: buzzing and ringing. _Oh for fuck's sake Max, take the hint! _"Max, just do me a favour and leave me alone."

_"No can do; I warned you last night and this payback for not listening to me. Had you not worked all night, this would not be happening."_

"Max, how early is it?"

_"11am, and you only need four hours sleep: so you were working till at least 7am, which is all night."_

"How do you know I started working straight away?"

_"Because it's you, simple as."_ Kai slammed down the phone again, but his morning drowsiness was starting to kick in. "_Sorry Kai, but banging the phone down on the table isn't going to end the call. You kind of have to press the button."_

"Then remind me next time to smash the phone so I never have you bothering me again. Now _go away_."

Max could be heard sighing on the other end. _"Fine, I'll give you until midday, but then I'm coming over and I will drag your ass out of there if I have to!"_

"Fine, now get lost." Kai threw the phone against the wall and sighed contentedly when he heard three clatters on the floor belonging to the back of the phone, the battery and the rest of it.

_Finally, some peace. So what if I…stopped working at 10am? I need…to get this finished soon…I need…to stop…Crystelle…_

* * *

Max sighed sadly when the line went dead, realising that Kai had no doubt thrown away the phone. He slumped over on the breakfast bar and rested his head on his folded arms, trying to let some of the frustration ease away. His mind had been racing all night as he fretted over his best friend. Outwardly, he may have looked like he was handling things, but inwardly, Max had no doubt that Kai was in turmoil.

Because of all these thoughts, Max did not hear the soft footsteps behind him.

A hand pressed lightly on Max's spine, causing chills of pleasure to shoot up it. The teen's head shot up and backwards in shock, colliding with something else: causing an ugly 'thwack' sound to resound through the kitchen. Max gripped his head as it pulsed in pain. "Ow…note to self, maybe look before throwing head up so fast…" A groan nearby caused Max to open his eyes slowly, and waves of guilt began to flow through him. _Oh shit, make that DEFINITELY look before maybe head-butting something…_

Max tentatively knelt next to the fallen form of the teen on the floor. "Yami, are you all right?"

"Did you just…hit me with a brick, Max?" he said through gritted teeth.

"No, sorry, you just startled me is all. It actually led to a collision of heads…"

"That's one way of waking up in the morning…" Yami finally pulled his hand away from his forehead and opened his eyes, only to meet the guilt ridden blue counterparts of Max. "Max, it was an accident, don't worry about it. Just help me up and I'll shake this off in a little while."

Max nodded and held out a hand to the former pharaoh, who took it gladly. Both of their heads were still aching but only Max decided to sit and let it pass. He looked back up from the breakfast bar when he heard clicking not too far away only to see Yami having _yet_ _another _fight with the toaster. "Need some help there, Yami?" asked Max cheekily.

Yami simply shot him a half-hearted glare before jabbing at the toaster again with a wooden spoon. "I think I've got it. Now, which button is it again to get it out…?"

Max shook his head and came to Yami's aid when the former pharaoh started pressing random protrusions. He flipped the switch off at the wall and watched the toast pop out, not quite as blackened as before but still unpleasant to look at, let alone eat. Yami looked at Max in amazement while the teen simply shrugged. "Yugi warned me that you've broken most of the buttons."

Yami could not help but feel slightly embarrassed as the pair sat down. In an attempt to get his mind off his failure to grasp the simplest of modern appliances, Yami started a new conversation with Max. "So what are you planning to do today? Start your search for the World Soul?"

"Nope. First I'm heading over to Kaiba Corp. to get Kai's ass hauled out of there, give him an earful, then start looking. That jerk actually had the nerve to keep working despite me warning him not to! Honestly, you would have thought he didn't care about me giving him hell afterwards!" Yami could not help but chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Oh boy, Kai really did have you nailed when he called you his mother last night."

Max swiftly turned beet red, much to Yami's amusement. The blonde stood in huff and headed off to the lounge to awaken the rest while Yami sat there chuckling away. While Max may make a big deal of being teased, Yami could not help himself. First of all, the blonde was so cute when he was embarrassed, and secondly, Yami just enjoyed teasing him far too damn much. The slightly mean streak in the former pharaoh was emerging, and poor Max seemed to be the target of it, as well as of his affections. The blonde didn't know what he had unwittingly got himself into.

* * *

Kaiba strode down the corridor purposefully while glancing at his watch. _12:06. That means I have three hours free until my next meeting. Suppose I should go and check that idiot hasn't caused any permanent damage to my lab. If he has, god help him. The assistants said he hasn't come out of there since 9pm last night…he better not have destroyed anything or he will be paying for the damages. I can't believe he did all this just to prove a nonsense story. _

Kaiba arrived in front of Lab 23 and opened the door, but what he found was not what he expected at all. In the middle of the room were several pieces of freshly constructed machinery while pages of blueprints were scattered about all over the room. Sharp sapphires examined the room carefully and despite his original suspicions, found nothing damaged whatsoever. His eyes finally caught sight of the teen slumped over the desk completely and his eyes softened slightly. Though he would never admit in a million years, Kaiba did find the bluenette extremely attractive, and at that very moment, he was very vulnerable. Kaiba could do anything and the other probably would not be able to stop him.

Shaking his head of all thought concerning the sleeping teen, the CEO made his way over to another desk where he found a small computer of unknown design. A couple seconds of inspection told Kaiba it was of very sophisticated design. He brought up the last screen and saw several lines of calculations. He sat and began reading through all the figures. Before he knew it, he had read the entire calculation for time travel, and come to a significant revelation.

_Son of a bitch…that bastard really was serious: he is working on a device for time travel. One small alteration and it can bridge between universes…_

Kaiba looked up at the slumbering teen, lips curving into a small smirk. _Well then, I suppose I should help him. After all, the sooner they are all gone, the sooner my life goes back to normal._

As Kaiba started analysing the blueprints, blue eyes shone with happiness from the entrance. Max turned away and set off with a spring in his step. Now Kaiba was onside and Max had not even needed to approach him about it. They were one step closer to getting back home.

* * *

_Alliance: Yikes, I needed to read that a couple of time to understand it but oh well. __**Same policy as before applies: Poll votes plus review equals faster updates.**_

**Next scheduled update: 31 December 2010**


	9. One Step Behind

_Alliance: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! (glomps Angel)_

Gah! Get off me!

_Alliance: THANK YOOOOOOUUUUU!_

You've said that already…what are you glomping me for?

_Alliance: FOR GIVING ME A LAPTOP SO I CAN READ FANFICTION WHENEVER I WANT NOW!_

Well I was fed up with you stealing mine…Argh! Get off before I take it away again!

_Alliance: O.O You wouldn't take away my Christmas present!_

Be very careful from here…doing the Disclaimer might get you some brownie points…

_Alliance: (said at 100 mph) Negative Angel does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Beyblade, nor any of their affiliated characters. She does however own her OC's as well as her screwing with dimensional physics. (pants heavily) Am…I…forgiven?_

I'll think about it. Meanwhile, I suppose I should give out a massive thank you to my regular reviewers: **andysanime, Dani Hiwatari, FlamingIce94, BurningWhiteTwilight **and** Xana Vlec. **You are all awesome!

Down to business.

* * *

**Chapter 8: One Step Behind**

"You're kidding me! He was really helping?" exclaimed Joey in surprise.

"Yeah, he walked in right as I was turning the corner. I was a little concerned about what he would do so I sneaked a peek and was amazed to see him looking over Kai's calculations. Or at least that's what I thought they were; anyway, his eyes widened for a bit, but then he got to work on some of the pieces Kai had constructed overnight," answered Max happily. When the blonde had returned with a massive grin plastered on his face, everyone had been keen to find out why.

"You sure he wasn't sabotaging it?" questioned Tyson. Max turned towards his fellow Rescuer with an eyebrow raised. "What? It's a genuine question; Kaiba hasn't exactly been subtle with his distaste for Kai."

"It is not in Kaiba's nature to so such a thing: his pride would not allow him to commit such an underhanded deed," declared Yami boldly.

"Besides that, Kaiba did say he wants rid of us and sabotaging the Vortex Generator would only delay our departure," added Max thoughtfully.

Yami nodded as he continued. "Kaiba is logical if nothing else. He will see that hindering Kai will not benefit him in any whatsoever. Our worry should not lie with them: it should instead lie in whether the Crusaders can find the World Soul before the Vortex Generator is completed."

"But what about once it is finished? It's not as if we can just expect the Crusaders to walk back through to your world again," said Tristan.

"True, but I'm sure Kai will have thought about that before committing to this plan; we need to leave that down to him while we make sure he has the opportunity to enact everything. I think we should split up and start looking for the World Soul. Some of us should go to Kaiba Corp. and check up with the other two: see how they are getting on while the others start searching."

"Small problem with that plan, Max, in that none of us know what we are looking for," added Yugi.

Max looked to the smaller tri-haired teen and then sighed deeply. "I know but…it's kinda difficult to explain seeing as I can't describe it from experience: only Kai can do that."

"Then how about this…" started Yami, drawing the attention of all, "Max and I will begin while the rest of you learn more about the Soul itself. That way we can let you all know of any potential difficulties with the search when you join us."

Yugi looked over to the Max. "That sound okay to you?"

Max grimaced. "Yami, are you sure that is such a good idea? I mean, can you defend yourself if we are jumped by the Crusaders?"

The former pharaoh nodded strongly. "Yes, despite being returned to human form, I retain some of my Shadow Magic. It has limited use, but would be helpful in a tight situation. You don't need to worry about me, Max, I can take care of myself."

Soft blue eyes met with strong crimson sending a wave comfort through the blonde haired Rescuer. Max could feel his resolve wavering as he lost himself within those deep red orbs and only just managed to drag himself back to reality. "Okay, but at the first sign of danger we disappear, agreed?"

Yami nodded. "Of course, there is no need to get ourselves caught in an unnecessary fight."

Max smiled at him before turning back to the rest of them. "All right, shall we head off?"

"Give me a minute to make a call: we'll need someone to let us into Kaiba Corp. and I somehow doubt Kaiba would let us all in willingly." Yugi gave a small wink to the group as he headed off to make his call, leaving them to their thoughts while they awaited his return.

Max kept stealing glances of Yami to his right before his emotions began to bubble over. He quickly leapt from his seat and dashed through to his and Kai's room, shutting the door behind him. Slumping against the nearest wall, he let his body go limp and his mind go wild. It had been a long time since Max had felt this helpless and useless at the same time. There had been many times in the war against the Crusaders that he had felt either helpless or useless, but was difficult to recall the last time he had suffered from both together. To remember such an event would take Max looking into the memories of his former life: the life he and his friends had experienced before Exposure. The time in which they lived simply as Beybladers rather than as life-savers: a life which had them travelling the world together in a quest to become World Champions.

Max chuckled ruefully. In a way, they were still trying to be World Champions, just not the kind they ever dreamed they would be.

"Max?" Max felt shivers snake down his spine at hearing the voice he found so attractive, and the person it belonged to he found was very handsome too. As the spiked mass of hair appeared around the side of the, now opened, door Max could feel his heart speeding up. "What's wrong?"

"I just think it's a bad idea for you to come with me," answered the blonde while avoiding eye contact. Yami knelt down next to him, never taking his eyes away from Max's own diverted ones.

"I can take care of myself, Max."

"You don't know these people, Yami. They will do anything and everything in their power to make sure they succeed in their mission, and will not think twice about killing someone who stands in their way, or even innocent bystanders." Max clenched his fists hard as his breathing quickened, which did not go unnoticed by Yami. The blonde had to take a moment to steady himself before continuing. "Yami…I was in the middle of a massacre, only hours before I came here."

Max noticed that the former pharaoh had physically shivered at hearing such a thing. "What…? How…How did that happen?"

"I was sent into the remains of a city to retrieve survivors: we were aiming to save as many of the roughly 5000 inhabitants living in the ruins, but I was spotted by a Crusader soldiers. That resulted in me only saving 107 people…" Teary blue eyes lifted from the floor to meet Yami's own, leaving the tri-haired teen to recoil in shock. "5000 people died in front of my eyes simply because I was seen in the city; the Crusaders didn't know if I was there for all of them, but they still ruthlessly killed every living thing left there. I've seen what monsters they are, and I know that they will not stop at anything to see us all dead. I just…I don't want to drag you into a war you don't belong to."

Yami smiled sadly and used one of his thumbs to brush away some of the tears which had stained Max's cheeks. Chills of pleasure shot down Max's spine at the simple gesture of kindness. He closed his eyes and subconsciously leant into the gentle touch. Yami replied by fanning out his motions and stroking the entirety of Max's cheek. Unfortunately, the tender moment wasn't going to last, despite both wishing it to. A sharp knock on the door from Tyson made sure of that.

"Guys, Mokuba's here! You ready to go?" As Max jolted and opened his eyes, they met the alluring counterparts of Yami. Both sat in stunned silence for a few more moments before a second louder knock came. "You two okay in there?"

Max was the one who finally answered. "We'll be out in a minute." They sat perfectly still as they listened to Tyson leave the vicinity. Once he was gone, their eyes met again but this time, uncertainty clouded both their orbs, and the new found fear they felt won out. Yami swiftly broke the gaze and stood, offering a hand to Max in the process.

"Ready to save the world, Max?" The blonde smiled before taking Yami's hand and hauling himself back to his feet, ready to take on the Crusaders should the need arise.

* * *

Dull thumping greeted Kai's ears as he struggled out from unconsciousness only to find himself with a monster headache. He groaned lowly, which caught the attention of Kaiba as he paused from his work. The brunette looked up briefly and had to stifle a laugh at Kai's expense. The dual-toned hair was splayed in all sorts of directions while his forehead had the impression of a hole-punch in it after having slept on it. Kai was too dazed from his sleep to realise quite the state he was in, but a quiet chuckle from only a few feet away helped his awareness come back to him rapidly. He swiftly spun around only to collide into a newly constructed piece of machinery with his already sore head. Kai swore profusely as he staggered backwards enticing another bout of soft laughter from Kaiba, but this time it held affection as well as malice.

Kai rounded on Kaiba sharply upon hearing him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped, suspicious of Kaiba's presence near his machine.

Kaiba scoffed. "Making sure that your laziness doesn't slow down the construction of this device. The sooner you are gone, the sooner my life can go back to normal."

"I'm surprised you could understand the schematics."

"Despite whatever you think in that pea-sized brain of yours, I do actually have a great deal of intellect."

"Could've fooled me seeing as you are the one who could not face facts before at Yugi's place."

Kaiba snarled and dismounted the platform he was atop. Now that Kai was looking, he realised that Kaiba had done a hell of a lot of work in only a couple of hours, and had been smart enough to work on another area entirely to Kai. While Kai was working on the inner mechanisms, Kaiba had started on the outer shell for the Vortex Generator itself, and it looked in fantastic shape.

But that wasn't the only thing in fantastic shape. Kai had to keep his eyes in their sockets as Kaiba came into full view: black shirt clinging to his sweat covered torso while a small band of skin was visible at the belt, where either his trousers had slipped or his shirt had ridden up, giving a stunning view of the fabulous six-pack beneath. His brown locks were matted to his forehead due to sweat and his sapphire eyes sparkled in the dim lights of the lab. His white trench coat had been tossed away onto a desk at the other side of the room, as had his arm and leg belts with his card locket placed carefully on top. Quite simply, he looked stunning to Kai, but this was not a time for his emotions to be getting the better of him: be they to do with Kaiba's incredible physique, or his less than desirable attitude. "Any sane person would question _your_ sanity when presented with that kind of story."

"Or would they be more open-minded than you were? I would have thought they would have admitted defeat once I asked for this lab. But you? No…you wanted to see me fail at my own game, am I correct?"

Kaiba snarled once again. "How can you read me so well?"

Kai laughed cruelly. "Wouldn't you love to know. Well, I suppose we should both get back to work again, after all, you said it yourself: the sooner this is finished, the faster my friends and I return to our own world, and you can go back to your sad little existence."

A growl met Kai's ears as he turned away. "I should have destroyed this thing rather than help you build it."

"Ah-ha-ha, but then we would be trapped here for much longer, and that would not help you at all. How about you just stop acting like a spoilt brat who can't get his own way and get on with it?"

"Says he who has been sleeping for the past two hours on top of a hole-punch and now has its impression for a tattoo."

"What?" Kai brought a hand up to his forehead and finally notice the indentation there. "Shit…" He sent Kaiba the most venomous glare he could muster upon hearing the other laugh away back to his work platform before sitting down to draw up more plans.

His eyes darted back to Kaiba for a few seconds as a thought passed by.

_You really want to know why I can read you so well? It's because I used to be exactly like you are now, but I found a purpose in life. It would do the world some good for you to find one too._

* * *

Max had to swerve between the bustling pedestrians who paid no heed to those passing by as he and Yami walked down another street. One thing he had not missed about metropolis life was the mad rush of day-to-day activities. He remembered from living in various big cities that it certainly wasn't peaceful, but then again, his new life wasn't much better.

"I don't like the speed much either," stated Yami rather suddenly as he came up next Max and pulled him under the awning of a café.

"How…? How did you know that was what I was thinking?"

"After you sighing for the past ten minutes while dodging other people on the pavement, I had a pretty good idea."

Max sighed again, enticing a small laugh from Yami. "I haven't lived in a city for years, so it's a bit different to back in one again."

"I can empathise: after all, I am a former Egyptian pharaoh and understand that you can live a much simpler life than the one we know here."

Max nodded, but then noticed that there were a few more people standing beneath the awning than were necessary. He looked around subtly and realised they were being watched. "Yami, follow my lead and don't look back," he whispered to his partner, who simply nodded.

The pair set off again into the streets and walked with intent away from the two pairs of prying eyes. It did not take long for their new company to follow them into the bustling streets of Domino, and drew two weapons. Max instantly spied the guns and sprinted off, dragging Yami behind him initially, but the former pharaoh soon matched his speed and disappeared into the crowd with him. Their pursuers took up the chase, but had lost sight of them within a few seconds; the sea of people providing the perfect camouflage for the escapees.

Yami chanced a glance backwards and could not see their foes. He grabbed Max's arm and nodded down an alleyway, at which Max nodded too and followed him inside. The duo ran down the alley as far as they dared before coming to a stop to catch their breath. Max was doubled over and panting while Yami simply leant against a wall. The former pharaoh took a couple of seconds and then looked back down the way they had come. No-one was in sight. "I think we lost them, Max." The blonde then looked back as well, and that was when they were vulnerable.

Max spun back upon hearing Yami yelp in pain, but was stunned with what greeted him: Yami's arms were pinned up his back and a gun was pointed to the back of his head, with Crystelle poised to pull the trigger. Max's breath caught in his throat at seeing Yami in such a dangerous position, but it was nothing compared to what he felt as he saw Crystelle lazily drag the gun from behind his head to brush past Yami's cheek. "I see you brought some company, Max," she teased while yanking on Yami's arms to make him screech in agony.

"Let him go Crystelle!" he screamed desperately.

She cackled evilly as she brought the gun down to rest between Yami's shoulder blades. "Oh I don't think so Max: after all, killing your friends is what I love doing best."

"You bitch…"

"I may, however, be persuaded to let the two of you go if you give me the location of the new Vortex Generator that Kai is building." Max and Yami's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Surprised I knew? Oh please, Kai knows the only way to get back to our world is to build another Generator, and once it is built, it also creates a fixed landing point for anyone else journeying through, allowing Kai to control the flow of my men from our world to this one. He may be many things, but stupid is not one of them. He knows what he has to do to stop us, and is willing to do anything to stop us.

"So let me ask you a question, Max: is Kai any different from us really? I mean, he is willing to go to any lengths to see the end of us, even kill, which is exactly what we are ready to do to you. The rest of your little group may not be so ruthless, but Kai is, and he will kill us if he gets the chance. Does that not make him just as 'cruel' and 'heartless' as we are? And note the use of your own terms there."

Yami began building a ball of Shadow Energy in his hand while Max was stalling Crystelle. "At least Kai is doing the right thing! He is only doing this to stop you!"

"And that makes him a good person does it? Means and methods don't matter as long as you get what you want?"

"Yes! Wait…maybe not to both…"

Crystelle cracked a cruel smile. "Is that not what Kai is doing? Using any means and methods to get what he wants? How is he any different from us then?"

"Kai is good at heart while you are pure evil!" declared Max boldly, but immediately regretted it when he saw the cruel glint in Crystelle's eyes.

"Well, if I'm pure evil, then I suppose you won't be surprised at me killing your new friend here." Yami could feel the gun pressing harder into his skin and instinctively tried to move away, but it was no use. "Say goodbye, Max."

"NO!"

Yami knew it was now or never, and detonated his Shadow Ball.

Crystelle screamed from the intense burn and lifted her gun, but instinctively squeezed the trigger while it was still pointed in Yami's back. The former pharaoh screeched in agony before being caught in the arms of a very scared Max. Crystelle realised she was beaten and disappeared into the darkness of the alley, leaving Max to deal with the damage she had caused.

"Yami? YAMI!"

* * *

Everyone looked around in wonder as they were being escorted to Lab 23, amazed at all the high tech gear of Kaiba Corp. Mokuba smiled on proudly as they admired some of his brother's handy-work, though they would never admit to it had they known it was Kaiba's work. As they stepped foot inside the lab, none of them expected what they saw.

Kai was welding together two pieces of metal in a far corner of the room and was surrounded by many other newly welded objects, many of which were of small design, while Kaiba was lying on a platform beneath a piece of the outer shell securing some of the many bolts beneath and making minor adjustments to added pieces. It was Kai who first noticed the new arrivals. "What are you lot doing here?"

"Just checking up on you, and making sure money-bags doesn't cause any trouble," answered Joey while throwing a nasty glare towards Kaiba.

"It wouldn't be worth my time, Mutt. God knows why I'm helping as is," drawled Kaiba disdainfully.

"Because you want rid of us, simple as," smirked Kai, not even needing to look up to know that Kaiba was furious at being humiliated by the smaller teen. Kai wandered over to the others. "Hi Mokuba, good to see you again."

"Hey Kai, so this is your time machine, huh?"

"Yep, this is my baby. She took a lot of work, but she brought us all here, so we need her to get back."

"Isn't there a lot that can go wrong with this?"

"Yeah, there is, but put it this way: if we go wrong, we won't be worrying about it too much."

"How come?"

"Well, if we screw up somewhere, we have basically built ourselves a very advanced bomb."

"You are lying again," snapped Kaiba, attracting the attention of everyone else. "If we get his damn thing wrong then we have built a black hole generator; far worse than any bomb you can create."

Mokuba and the others chuckled lowly, but when they saw that Kai wasn't joining them, realisation slowly dawned on them. "You are kidding, right Seto? Kai, please tell me he is kidding."

Kai simply shrugged right before an alarm went off from his computer. The blue-haired teen sprinted over to it while Kaiba jolted away from the shell after hearing it. Kai's eyes widened and he took off without another word: bolting out the door into the main building.

Everyone else looked on in shock at the doorway, unable to comprehend what just happened. "What the hell was that all about?" exclaimed Tristan.

"Kai does that: he sees something, he takes off without another word. You get used to it eventually."

"Maybe we should ask my brother what he saw. Hey Set-" Mokuba stopped himself midsentence as he heard another door slamming shut from the other side of the lab. He looked round apprehensively, but knew what he was about to see: Kaiba too was gone.

"Where the hell did rich-boy go?" blurted Joey.

"After Kai: taking that door will mean he will arrive at the main entrance about three seconds after him."

"Still doesn't explain why though."

Mokuba sighed and walked over to the computer, seeing a bunch of waves on the screen and quickly recognising them. "It looks like radioactive waves, but I've never seen anything like them." When he looked back up, he saw that everyone's faces had fallen. "What's wrong?"

"Kaiba's gone after Kai to make sure he doesn't get himself killed," surmised Yugi. "He knows he can't finish the Generator alone and needs Kai's help, so had gone to give Kai some back-up."

"What for?"

Everyone shared a glance before Ray broke the tense silence. "It looks like Crystelle's back-up is here."

A ringtone caused everyone to jump, and they soon realised it wasn't any of their phones. Eyes turned towards the phone left behind by Kai, and to the caller ID.

As soon as the saw Max's name, they knew something was definitely wrong.

* * *

What did you all think?

**Next Update: 7****th**** January 2011, advanced one day for every review and poll voter.**

See next time!


	10. Face Off

_Alliance: (gasps) What, the, hell? You are doing a DOUBLE UPDATE?_

Shush will you! I am doing this because of all the lovely reviews I have been getting for my story. **Thank you to all of you!**

_Alliance: Come on! Let us see the chapters already! I want to see what happened to Yami!_

It's not him you should be worried about. Anyhow, business before pleasure as they say: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters.

Business over with, let's get this show on the road!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Face-Off**

_Dammit, why do I get myself lost for the first time when I __need __to get out of here fast! If that reading is anything to go by Crystelle has just gained four new allies, and if she gets many more she will be able to launch an attack on this place. I can't let her get to the new Vortex Generator…if she does then there will be nothing to stop her gaining a stranglehold on this world too. Let's hope the others have found a lead to the World Soul…_

_Where could it be?_

Kai had to swiftly dodge several scientists chatting about their latest experiment as he rushed through the corridors, desperately searching for the exit. Eyes scanned the walls at length, taking in every detail and committing it to memory: as so to avoid this exact same scenario arising again. He was so caught up in his thoughts and memorising that he barely noticed a voice calling out to him.

But then again, the voice wasn't exactly subtle, so even to just hear it was prompt enough.

"If you want the way out of here then you've got ten seconds to get over here!" Kai could not help but round on the aggressive tone, not at all surprised to find Kaiba at the end of it. "I've been waiting six minutes for you!"

"Nobody asked you to come along," snapped Kai as he ran over to join him.

"Clearly you are lacking some brain cells as you will not be able to handle things alone," sneered Kaiba while leading the way out of the building.

"Like you know what is going on."

"Subspace radiation burst detected by your laptop, which is a direct indicator of inter-universal travel: it only lasts for three hours after arrival and based on the readings your laptop gave out, four new people have arrived."

Kai stopped running out of shock, which forced Kaiba to slow. "You read my notes as well as building the framework of the new Vortex Generator?"

"I'm a quick study, unlike much of your company."

Kai scoffed and stole a quick glance of Kaiba's arm, only to notice the same device as what Joey was wearing when they first met. _What did he say it was again? A Duel Disk or something like that? I wonder why Kaiba is dragging that thing about: it's not as if it can be used destructively. It only creates holograms, but then again, they are pretty realistic. Might be a useful diversion…_

"Keep up or get back to the Generator!" Kai snapped back to reality at the shout, swiftly catching up to Kaiba and passing him. Kaiba shook his head before taking position behind him as they raced through the streets. "So you know your way around Domino now, do you?"

Kai laughed. "You aren't the only quick study, believe it or not."

"You've learned your way around the city but not Kaiba Corp.?"

"I never thought I would need to get around there quite that fast, unlike the city. Anyway, who doesn't put up at least a sign to help new employees?"

"I expect them to have the place memorized after being given a tour."

"Let me guess: whole building?"

"Of course. I only take the best, and the best should be able to learn their way around."

"But in one go?"

"Why not if they are the best?"

"Not everyone is as fast as you, clearly you forget that."

"That is their problem, not mine." Kai rolled his eyes and turned his focus back to the streets. Finding the Crusaders was his biggest concern at the present moment; fighting with Kaiba could wait until after the crisis was over.

Both men skidded to a stop as the alleyway came into sight. _What is it with alleys? Do they like dark damp places? _Kai steadied his breathing as he glanced down it, only to see blackness. A thought suddenly struck him as he looked over at Kaiba, who was on the other side of the entrance. "Why did you come actually?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and snorted. "You were stupid enough to race off without back-up."

"Why would that be of a concern to you?"

"_You _are not of my concern." Kai's heart sank a little at hearing this, which caught him by surprise. "My interests lie in that if something happens to you, then your little friends will become part of the dweeb patrol and I'll have even more stress in my life."

"You don't have any friends, do you?"

Kaiba scoffed. "Who needs them? Just another liability to add to my numerous list."

Kai sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I used to think that way too…" he whispered, just catching Kaiba's attention. "Friends can be a liability, but true friends are not. It took a long time for me to realise that…"

"In other words you got soft."

"Maybe I did…" Kaiba turned and saw Kai staring hard at him. "But that doesn't make me anything less than I was before."

"That is debatable."

"How would you know? You weren't there, and if you were…then you might take a slightly different view of things."

"Hmph, I highly doubt that, as I doubt how dangerous these Crusaders are."

Kai smirked. "Then why did you come along if they aren't dangerous? You think I need a babysitter or something?"

Kaiba scowled, and Kai could have sworn he saw a trace of red across his cheeks. "Can we just get this over with?"

Kai smiled slightly before venturing in, Kaiba close behind. Eyes were glued to every brick and ears tuned to every sound. Though neither would admit it to the other, their hearts were racing as they waited for the Crusaders to reveal themselves. Kai could not help but keep glancing behind him, but it was not out of suspicion: Kaiba may not have appreciated it, but still had Kai concerned about him. Kai had never anticipated that Kaiba would follow him and offer his assistance (if you could call it that) and it left Kai worried as the Crusaders would surely target him.

_What does he hope to achieve by being here? He is going to get himself killed if he isn't careful…and I can't let that happen: I wouldn't forgive myself if he gets hurt. _Kai shook those thoughts straight out of his head. _No, I need to clear my head. If I don't Crystelle will surely see my weakness and take advantage. Fuck…of all people why did __Kaiba__ follow me?_

Both swiftly halted as they heard a clatter in a connecting alley. They looked at each other briefly before Kai led the way in. Instincts were telling them that something was very wrong with the situation, but neither listened to them as they took another turning off and ventured deeper into the maze of back-streets. It was only when they reached cross-point did alarms start to go off in both their heads. One quick look was all needed to confirm they were thinking the same thing, but by that point it was already too late.

Six silhouettes emerged from darkness and approached them: guns raised and locked to their positions. "Shit…we need to get out of here," whispered Kai, to which Kaiba nodded. They stealthily backed away but soon backed into sharp protrusions behind them. The pair spun around fiercely and came face-to-face with two more Crusaders, both of who smirked and showed off their firearms.

A cackle from the large group caught their attention. "Well Kai, I didn't expect you to bring company, especially of such good quality."

Kai growled lowly and turned slowly to face his nemesis: Crystelle. "And I didn't expect such a volume of you lot."

"Come now, you thought I would skimp on things when you are involved?"

"Nothing like living in hope."

"Not that you would know what hope is anymore given how things are back home. Enough chatter, who is the gorgeous one behind you?"

Kaiba scoffed, but still did not face her completely. "Like I would bother giving you my name."

"Well seeing as you two are not going to be leaving this alley unless you swear to our cause, it seems only natural to know the name of either a new member or a dead man."

Now Kaiba faced her and simply glared. "Seto Kaiba if you must know."

Crystelle sighed. "Why did you have to go and choose such a handsome guy as a new ally of yours, Kai? It just makes life difficult for me."

Kai snorted. "He won't join you Crystelle, so you can just give it up now."

Crystelle's mouth curled into a cruel smirk. "Shame, but then again, after watching your new friends I had gathered that impression, so I…demonstrated my power to a couple of them."

"What do you…?" Kai tailed off as he gave it some thought, and then his heart hit the floor when he realised what she meant.

"Have you heard from your dear Maxie in the past hour?" she cooed cruelly. Malicious chuckling came from the rest of the Crusaders as they saw Kai's resolve breaking. "You might be in for quite a shock when you see him next."

Kai's eyes had darkened until they were black with rage, at which he locked them onto Crystelle. "You bitch…what have you done to him?" he demanded.

"Well now, it seems your emotions are finally showing through. Come on then: take me down in revenge, show me how dark you really are."

Had Kai not felt a restricting hand on his shoulder, he would have leapt forward and charged down the Crusaders with no restraint. It took him a couple of seconds to realise fully that it was there, but he didn't have any more time to take notice of the situation before all hell broke loose.

* * *

"Yami come on, stay awake!" Max screamed desperately as Yami began lose consciousness from pain. The former pharaoh had been fortunate in that the bullet had lodged itself in his shoulder blade and causing limited damage along the way. Blood loss was minimal; the pain, however, was excruciating. "Yami stay with me!" Yami's eyes flickered open again at the tearful cries of the blonde and he stared up into misty blue eyes. He groaned when Max shifted him so that he was lying back against the other teen's chest while sitting between his legs. It may have hurt being moved, but he could not deny it was much better there than lying on Max's legs. "Is the pain easing any?"

"Unfortunately not," replied Yami through gritted teeth. He attempted to find a more comfortable position but only succeeded in aggravating the wound. Max pulled him back into a comforting embrace as Yami screamed out his agony. "Where the hell are they?"

"I don't know, but I could only give them our rough location." He paused before continuing. "I'm sorry, Yami."

Yami struggled to control his panting as he spoke. "What…for?"

"It's my fault you got shot. If my friends and I weren't here then you wouldn't have to deal with any of this. You would be living your new life in peace."

"Max… Don't."

"It would have been so much better for you all had we never come here-"

"Max stop!" Yami yelped at his own outburst, but it succeeded in silencing Max. "Max…that's not true and you know it…"

"But…you would be safe were it not for me…"

"Max…put it this way…I would rather take a thousand shots like this…than…than have never…met you…" It was then that Yami lost consciousness after fighting to stay awake for so long.

Max's tears were falling freely and uncontrollably as he held Yami's limp form against him. He cried into his unharmed shoulder and nuzzled it affectionately. It had been a long time since Max had felt so at ease with someone other than his fellow Rescuers that it hit him hard to see that person thrown into the war which threatened the freedom their world. Why did they have to bring all their troubles through with them? The blonde hugged Yami as tightly to him as he could: hoping somehow if he held on tight enough that he would lose him like he had lost so many before.

"Max!" Max looked up at the cry of his name to see Joey and Tyson running towards him. "Max, is he all right?"

"He's just passed out, the shot didn't cause too much damage. He was in too much pain; some painkillers and bandages should be enough."

"We should get him back to Kaiba Corp. Everyone is there waiting."

"What about Kai? Is he back yet?"

Tyson shook his head. "We haven't heard anything at all, but more readings popped up after they took off."

"Wait…what are you saying?"

Tyson and Joey looked at each other before answering. "They think they are meeting four of them: there's actually twelve in total. They've headed straight into an ambush."

* * *

"What the fuck is that thing?"

"Is that a…a dragon?"

"That's not possible!"

Kai felt himself being guided back, away from the action while a deep voice boomed out over all the commotion.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon… Attack!" The majestic creature rose up high into the air; lightning burst ready and waiting to be launched. The Crusaders were rapidly forced to retreat, but they were too slow. As the dragon released its White Lightning, they all cowered in fear; and gave Kai and Kaiba their chance to escape. The hand on Kai's shoulder moved to his forearm and pulled him back. He spun and faced Kaiba, only just realising everything which had happened within about ten seconds. "Let's go!"

Kai nodded and the pair charged down the stunned Crusaders guarding the exit. The blue-haired teen landed a roundhouse kick to the head of one while Kaiba kneed another in the stomach before tossing him head-first into a nearby wall. Kaiba led the way as they raced back the way they came, only to find two more Crusaders as they emerged into another alley, with them blocking the route they had previously undertaken. Kaiba yanked on Kai's arm to guide him out of harm's way and the pair dashed away; bullets whizzing past them as they increased the shooting distance. Both dove into another alley and took cover behind some garbage cans.

"Nice little idea with the dragon back there," complimented Kai as he caught his breath.

Kaiba shot him a sceptical look and held up the arm with his Duel Disk. "You didn't think I lugged this dead weight around for nothing, did you?"

"Well I did wonder, but I just assumed you were making life more difficult for yourself than it needed to be, as usual," smirked Kai.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and then glared when other man began to snicker. "You know, my distaste for you is swiftly returning."

"You mean to tell me you were growing to like me until I started embarrassing you again?"

Sapphire eyes momentarily widened as Kaiba realised what he had said. "Won't you just shu-" Kaiba's sentence was cut short by a bullet whizzing past their make-shift defence. "Shut up until we get out of this!" Amethysts twinkled in amusement for a split second before another ricochet snapped him back to their current situation. Kaiba leant back further into one tin can and armed himself with a loose lid while Kai peered around the edge subtly. He spotted one soldier about ten feet away closing in on them tentatively.

Shifting back within their fortress he whispered an update. "Five o'clock, ten feet away." Kaiba nodded and took a strong hold of the lid. Kai leant up and saw the Crusader had lowered his gun ever so slightly: just enough for them to take advantage. "NOW!"

The soldier barely had any time to notice the shout before a spinning garbage lid collided with his head, knocking him unconscious. Kai and Kaiba returned to the open and seized his gun. "AK-47, perfect." Kaiba swung it around his shoulder while Kai pulled a hand gun out from a holster on the side. "You know how to shoot?"

"I've fought a war for two years, what about you? When have you needed to fire a gun?"

"To protect myself and Mokuba."

"I don't begrudge you that. We need to get out of here but I'm guessing they will have almost all the exits covered by now. Any thoughts?"

Kaiba sighed and looked around before his eyes met with a fire escape ladder. He nudged Kai towards it. "You head up there and look to see what's going on while I buy you some time."

Kai took one look at the ladder and then turned back. "That is a stupid idea."

"If you've got a better one then tell me!" Kai could only stand in silence. "I thought so, now get up there before they close in."

Kai stepped back a bit before he realised arguing would do them no good. He sighed angrily and ran to the ladder. "I hope you know what you're doing!"

Kaiba nodded to him and took cover behind some more garbage cans as Kai swiftly ascended the ladder. The blue-haired couldn't help but glance back down as he climbed: hoping that Kaiba would be able to handle himself as well as he claimed he could. As the summit loomed Kai drew his gun, but hoping he wouldn't have to use it.

He stealthily looked over the rooftop and saw the coast was clear. Barely had he regained his footing on solid ground when he heard the furious shouts of Crystelle. "FIND THEM! I DON'T CARE IF THEY ARE DEAD OR ALIVE JUST BRING THEM HERE!" Kai looked down to Kaiba who nodded, clearly having heard the orders as well as he had. Turning his attention back to his task, Kai scanned the area trying to spot any Crusader soldiers, be they nearby or guarding an exit. Fortunately, it seemed that many of the exits were clear.

The bad news was however that they were all converging on Kaiba's position. Kai quickly realised the danger and raced back to the ladder; calling down it. "Kaiba you have incoming!" Kaiba had his gun poised, ready to shoot down any who ventured too near, and he didn't have to wait too long. Three of them came around the corner at once, and while two were swiftly taken down by the CEO, one managed to evade his fire. The remaining soldier fired back and forced Kaiba to take cover, only for another two to come at him from the opposite direction. He opened fire and mowed down another soldier while injuring the other, causing him to retreat. As more shots rained down on him, Kaiba realised he would have to get out of there fast or be trapped.

Gunfire rained down from above and targeted the soldiers. Kaiba glanced upwards, and sure enough, found Kai firing with precision. The CEO laughed, impressed, before taking his chance to ascend. He managed to get halfway before more shots came his way and caused him to pause and fire back.

That pause, however, cost him as he felt a bullet pierce his side.

Kaiba bit back a scream as searing heat tore through flesh and clothes, settling instead for firing back blind. Kai's attention was caught by this and he just caught a glimpse of violet hair before it took cover. He growled loudly but helped Kaiba up as he finally reached the top. Kai became concerned as he noticed Kaiba's body shaking, but kept his distance, settling instead for just kneeling next to the CEO. "Anything hurt?"

Sapphire eyes met with amethyst briefly before Kaiba shook his head. "Nothing, just a couple of close shaves is all. What's the situation?"

"All of the Crusaders are surrounding this building. We won't be able to get down another without them following us."

"Then we won't climb back down." Kai looked at Kaiba before he continued. "These apartment blocks all share a single underground car park, of which one exit comes out fairly near Kaiba Corp. We get there, we should be fine."

"So we just need to get to a building which uses this car park?"

"Yes, and the one to our right should use it if memory serves me correctly. We'll just need to jump across."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Oh yes! That easy is it?"

"What's the matter? Scared?" A gunshot rang out from the ladder, at which Kai leant over and shot down the Crusader which had been scaling it.

Kai stretched back and sighed. "Not as if we have much choice is it?" He got back to his feet and offered a hand to Kaiba, who took it as he stood. The two looked at each other, before turning to the void they had to cross, and then back to each other: only to see that they both had a smirk on their faces. They chuckled before running towards it with no fear and leapt from the edge, attempting to cross the three metre gap. Shots zipped past them as they soared through the air, cherishing the feeling of weightlessness. It was only once they reached the other side and landed with a crash did the gravity of their situation return to them.

Both panted hard as they lay on the concrete roof, allowing the rush of feelings to pass. They locked eyes for a few seconds, but those few seconds felt like hours to them: lost in each other's gaze while their senses were overloaded. Fear, anticipation, adrenaline and attraction rushed through them both all at once, causing everything to disappear, and for them only to see each other.

Their moment was ruined by incoherent screeching from Crystelle below them. Both sets of eyes widened as realisation hit that they would only have a few seconds to get away before they were seen. Kaiba was the first to his feet and helped Kai return to his. The pair rushed to the door on the roof and disappeared inside it, making sure to lock the door behind them.

By the time the Crusaders reached the door, the two were running through the underground car park, heading back to Kaiba Corp., and away from danger.

* * *

Kai collapsed to his knees as they re-emerged onto ground level while Kaiba settled for leaning against a wall. Despite there having been no sign of Crusaders behind them, the pair had taken no chances and dashed towards safety with all their remaining strength. Both their bodies shook with physical strain: their muscles only holding them up because of all the tension which had been there since they had left Kaiba Corp.

Kai was the first to speak, but he stayed on his knees as he dragged in well needed oxygen. "You can stop pretending now."

Kaiba scoffed through his pants. "Pretending what?"

"That you didn't get shot." Sapphire eyes widened and turned to meet cold amethyst. "I saw it the minute you made it onto the roof. White trench coat doesn't hide red blood very well."

Kaiba turned away again, his voice laced with malice. "So what if I did? It's not as if you could have done anything about it."

"That's not the point. Why didn't you say?"

"Because I don't know where your allegiance lies: with your friends, or with her." Amethysts widened in blind shock before Kaiba continued. "I saw what happened to you when you talked to her. You froze. She had you wrapped around her little finger and you would have been killed had I not been there. You need to figure out which side you are on before it gets someone killed."

Kai's eyes narrowed harshly as he stood and he sent the harshest glare he could muster towards Kaiba. "Well, if I'm lucky, maybe she'll shoot you more accurately next time and then you won't be able to comment on the situation."

Kaiba would have taken a step back in surprise had he not been leaning on the wall already. He faced Kai with all the ferocity he could and snapped back. "Maybe you should just get back to machine of yours and get out of here before you cause any more damage."

"Don't worry: the minute it is finished, I will be gone and you can go back to your sad little life you live."

Kaiba scoffed. "At least I have a life to live, unlike you who has nothing to go back to. Not even your friend now according to your girlfriend."

"Don't you dare say that!"

"Really? Cause it looks to me like something went on between you two, and clearly you haven't moved on from it. You are a liability. For all intents and purposes, you are an inside agent for the Crusaders, and the sad thing is your friends still believe in you when there is _nothing _to believe _in._"

The two continued to glare for another half minute or so before Kaiba pushed off the wall and walked past Kai, not even sparing him a second glance. "Where are you going?"

"To get rid of you before you cause any more harm."

Kai could only stand there in shock as the conversation washed over him, and he realised that much of what Kaiba had said, no matter how harsh it may have been, had truth to it.

_Shit…he's right. I am a liability to them…If I don't straighten myself out, I am going to get someone killed. I just pray that she lied about Max…I won't forgive myself if he's hurt._

* * *

Next update: **3****rd**** January 2011 at some time.**

Look forward to seeing you all there!


	11. Melting The Ice

Sorry about being late, but my gran took a nasty tumble last night so I wanted to make sure she was all right. She is fine and recovering, so I should make up lost time.

Here we go everyone, Part 2 of my double update begins…

…Now

* * *

**Chapter 10: Melting The Ice **

Kaiba winced slightly as he strode back to the lab and fatigue finally set in. His muscles were all screaming for rest, while his body called for a relief from the searing pain down his side. Bringing a hand around to feel the wound, Kaiba was shocked when he felt warm liquid there: it was still bleeding. Swearing quietly under his breath, he made a quick about turn and headed straight for the elevator. He needed to get to his office and stop the bleeding before he reunited with the rest of them.

The last thing he wanted to do was panic his little brother.

* * *

Multiple sets of eyes rounded on the lab doors as they hissed open. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the group as a familiar blue-haired and purple-eyed Rescuer appeared at the threshold; looking relatively unharmed. Barely had he stepped inside when a mass of blonde barrelled into him and buried its face within his chest. "Max?" whispered Kai once he regained his footing. Relief washed over him when he saw his best friend was not hurt, but anxiety swiftly replaced it when he noticed Max was trembling. A couple of seconds of listening provided the answer: he was crying. "Maxie, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked desperately, willing for Max to divulge the source of his tears. He did not have to wait long, nor did Max have the time to reply.

An anguished cry ripped through the air and caused many to physically flinch. Kai just managed to tear his eyes away from Max towards the origin of the screech: Yami. The older teen's stomach turned at seeing the former pharaoh in such excruciating pain, but somersaulted further when he saw the damage to his shoulder. Blood had stained the floor around him, but it was not in such a volume that it would be life-threatening, while the back of his shirt was ripped open so that Yugi had better access to treat the injury. Yami screamed at the tops of his lungs again as Yugi gave an almighty tug at the bullet hole. Max had buried himself further into Kai's chest at hearing the cries and whimpered quietly as more tears escaped his eyes. Kai stroked his hear comfortingly while the struggle continued only ten feet away.

"Almost there, Yami! One more pull should do it!" informed Yugi to the squirming teen.

"Then do it! Just get this over with!" he shouted desperately: willing the pain to just end. Yugi scrunched his eyes shut as he locked the clamps onto the foreign object, and pulled with all his might. Yami let out an almost primal screech as the bullet finally came loose of the shoulder blade and it became exposed to air once again. He slumped against the back of the chair and tried to drain all tension out of his body. His crimson eyes fluttered shut as the pain finally began to recede, but they snapped open again at hearing sniffles not too far away.

"Shush…he's fine Maxie, he's fine. They've got the bullet out." Yami locked his ruby orbs onto the soothing voice of Kai and could almost feel his heart aching at seeing Max in such a state.

"I should have been more careful…I should have…"

"Hush now, Max. Nothing can change what happened; what matters is that you are both alive and safe."

"Max…" The blonde's ears just about caught the soft whisper, and he cautiously lifted his head away from Kai's chest: who then nodded towards something behind him. He spun around and met eyes with Yami, who spoke just as softly as before. "This wasn't your fault. Kai is right: what is done, is done. All we can do now is look towards the future, and to stopping the Crusaders once and for all."

Various people around the room started nodding while others smiled. Max's crying started to lessen, and his attention now turned to distinguishing Kai's physical state. "What about you, Kai? What happened to you?"

"Kai…where's my brother?" A wave of anger and hurt rushed through the blue-haired teen at the mention of Kaiba, but he quickly suppressed it: Mokuba was clearly oblivious to how much of a bastard his older brother could be at times. Instead he settled for fixing his eyes to a point on the wall just past the pre-teen and pouring all of his frustration into an icy glare (but just subtle enough so that it was barely noticeable. "Is he hurt? Kai, please tell me."

Amethyst eyes softened at the scared undertones lacing Mokuba's voice, but still held a degree of iciness to them. "I don't know where he skulked off to. He disappeared the minute we were in the clear. I must admit I am surprised he isn't here."

"You saw him come back into Kaiba Corp.?"

"We parted just by the entrance. He's here somewhere." _Though I really could be done without seeing that arse at the present moment. It seems my attractions are no better judged. _Kai felt his stomach drop the minute that thought had passed through his head, for that was the first time he had acknowledged he found the CEO attractive, even though that was only the tip of the iceberg. Now he knew he had something the Crusaders could exploit if given the chance: he just had to stop a situation from arising.

Another door in the lab burst open from behind the main group, startling them. A white trench coat was tossed onto the first desk that came into throwing distance as Kaiba strode towards the Vortex Generator. He only stopped at the relieved cry of his brother. "Seto!" Mokuba threw his arms around Kaiba's chest and hugged him tightly. The Rescuers were surprised to see Kaiba hug his brother back earnestly and wait for Mokuba to let go first. "Where did you go?"

"I had to take care of some company business upstairs. There shouldn't be any more interruptions," replied Kaiba matter-of-factly and began striding towards the half-constructed framework.

"Liar." Furious sapphire eyes rounded on cold amethyst which were moving towards the desk. "You wouldn't have been gone for so long if it were 'company business'."

"Like you would know; you couldn't run a multi-billion corporation if you wanted to, so you have no right to say anything."

"You would be right in that I wouldn't know about that: but I can smell disinfectant for wounds a mile away. Wanted to try and conceal that fact you got shot from your little brother did you?" sneered Kai as he stopped by Kaiba's trench coat.

Sapphires widened in shock and hardened upon hearing the hurt tone of Mokuba. "Seto, you got shot?"

"You had not right to say such a thing," hissed Kaiba venomously. Chills shot down the spines of everyone bearing witness: even Kai was taken aback by the reaction, but he was in a far too vindictive mood to care about Kaiba at that point.

"At least he is informed this way. If you had your way you would keep everyone around you in the dark about anything happening. You can't trust anyone."

"You are not better seeing as you do not deserve their trust. Do your friends still know you are head-over-heels in love with that Crusader girl?"

Max snapped to attention the minute Crystelle was mentioned. "You don't know what you are talking about!"

"Oh spare me. Kai froze up when we came face-to-face with her and still doesn't know where his allegiance lies. If things keep up like they are now then he will get you lot killed."

Kai audibly growled and tossed the trench coat at Mokuba. Kaiba did not have the time to react and catch it before his brother, but wished he had when he saw the pre-teen's face drain of all colour when he witnessed the blood, which stood out from the pristine white. "I'll make a point of letting Crystelle kill you next time, shall I?" snapped Kai maliciously.

"You won't have to worry about that since I won't be saving your ass when you next find yourself surrounded by eight Crusaders. I don't have time to argue with a pathetic scrap of existence like you: I have a company to get back to. Come on, Mokuba, we are leaving."

Kaiba stormed out of the room without another word, but Mokuba did not immediately follow. Instead, he took a page out of his brother's book and sent the most venomous glare he could towards Kai. "You got my brother shot?"

"Your idiot brother didn't have to follow me. I didn't ask for his help: he just came. He has nobody to blame for that but himself." Kai forced himself to bite his tongue before he completely lost his temper and took it out on the younger Kaiba. "Look, Mokuba, I'm sorry for what I said there. Your brother had wound me up outside and that little spat didn't help things." The smaller boy visibly relaxed at hearing the apology; clearly it was the last thing he had been expecting. "You had better head upstairs and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. The wound isn't serious from how easily he treated it but he could still aggravate it. He'll be looking for you."

Mokuba slowly stepped backwards and half-turned towards the door, but stopped just short to leave one final comment. "You know, Kai, when my brother described you originally, you sounded like a carbon copy of him: and the truth is, you and he are scarily similar. The only difference is you are a better person than he is."

Amethyst eyes widened. "I don't think he would thank you for saying that."

Mokuba smiled cheekily, but sadly at the same time. "No, but it is the truth." He turned back around and left without another word.

Kai stood in silence for a little while, until he finally let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. His body seemed frozen to the spot after his emotional outburst while his thoughts were racing all over the place. It was only once he felt hand on his shoulder did he snap back to reality. "You all right, man?" asked Joey worriedly.

Kai smiled back at him hesitantly and nodded shortly. "Yeah, I'm fine but I think we should head back to the Game Shop: Yami needs to get somewhere more comfortable, and I need to get my head straightened out."

"Well then, shall we?"

* * *

Mokuba cautiously and quietly opened the door to Kaiba's office, peering in to see how his brother was. He had to hold back a gasp as he saw Kaiba tending to his gunshot wound. It had struck him in his left side, with the bullet itself settling in one of his ribs. The bleeding was finally starting to slow but the area around the entry wound was severely inflamed. Mokuba shrank back a bit when he saw Kaiba pick up an injection and stab it into side, right below the wound. The CEO bit back a scream as he felt the painkillers make their way into bloodstream and aggravate the wound. He gripped the edge of his desk to the point his knuckles turned white until the pain finally began to recede.

A sharp breath left his body as he released his death grip on the wooden desk, and turned towards the door slightly. "You don't need to hide Mokuba, I know you are there."

Mokuba sheepishly crossed the threshold fully and shut the door behind him. Once it was closed, he wandered over to Kaiba, whose face was still scrunched in discomfort. "How bad is it?"

"The wound itself is not serious; just a case of pain management. Hardly seems worth it in the end."

"Do you mean getting shot or saving Kai?"

"Both. He is ridiculous: clearly he doesn't know which side he is on since that girl has him wrapped around her little finger."

"Her name is Crystelle, and the two of them were an item for about three months. Apparently Kai fell for her hard and was almost killed by her at the start of their war."

"It looks like he didn't take the hint. The encounter just didn't add up: she was interested in trying to sway us into joining them, or at least that is what she was saying. I get the feeling she was actually just distracting us."

"Distracting you? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know, Mokuba, but I intend to find out. What I am curious about is why she took such an interest in me…"

* * *

"Well?" demanded Crystelle at the newly established Crusader base, in one of the Domino Harbour warehouses. Within hours of her arrival she had set up a base of operations, as well as sort out a regular delivery of supplies to the location, and b hijacking a lorry from a medical research firm, she had gained a large collection of technology for the Crusader cause. That technology was their main focus at the present time.

"Still nothing. I can't get a lock on a World Soul while the host's own soul interferes with the signal. It looks like the problems we had back in our own world were nothing to do with the fact the Soul knows it is being targeted."

"Any mysterious chains of natural disasters reported in recent history?"

"Not a thing in known history."

"Good, that means we should not have to deal with any interference, other than the Rescuers." She stopped her pacing around the room and focused all of her attention on one of her soldiers. "What about that guy who was with Kai earlier?"

"Well after finding out his name, getting a hold of his history was pretty easy. He's 18 years old, president and CEO of the largest worldwide gaming company and is an expert in multiple games. That device he used earlier is something called a Duel Disk: it is utilized for the game of Duel Monsters in which he is world number 2, second only to a guy named Yugi Mutou. The Duel Disk is simply a holographic generator, and cannot be used destructively."

"It thus is no threat, so we will not fall for the same trick again."

"It turns out that Yugi Mutou is one of that lot you first came across, and well as his older brother Yami Mutou and best friends. Here is a little bit or juicy info for you: Yami Mutou does not exist."

"Are you telling me he is a fake? Or do you mean he is an android?"

"Neither: turns out he is an ancient Egyptian pharaoh from 3000 BC and only received a physical body about two months ago. I accessed all of their communications after I learned their identities, and it turns out they have gone through their fair share of saving the world. Looks like they won't just be scared off."

"That is no problem, we can just kill them off."

"I wouldn't do that to all of them…we need to study them a bit more before we make a move."

Crystelle raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"I didn't do a full biological analysis of Seto Kaiba and turn up with nothing, you know." He beckoned Crystelle in closer, at which she came within whispering distance. "His central cerebral cortex is fully active."

Crystelle's mouth hung open in shock, but it soon turned into a cruel smile. "You mean he knows about Dimensionality and understands it?" The soldier nodded. "Which means Seto Kaiba has been in contact with the World Soul."

"It is impossible to say whether it was accidentally awakened or whether it was deliberate, but he knows, and will surely be working on the Vortex Generator with Kai. All I can tell you is that it has been active for at least two years."

Crystelle stepped back and hummed. "That part of his brain can be activated through host contact, correct?"

"Yes, but only through frequent contact over a six month period, or occasional contact for one or two years. Direct contact with the Soul would awaken it instantaneously as it did with yourself and Kai Hiwatari."

"How occasional are we talking? One or two months?"

"Shorter than that: two, maybe three, weeks at most."

"So it would have to be someone living in this city…We need to have analyses done of the rest of them and see if any of them have had contact. Either way it should narrow the search."

Her evil smile grew larger as she stared out over the ocean. "Looks like we got a lucky break boys: the World Soul is somewhere in this city. And best of all, Kai will not be able to stop us this time."

* * *

"Rich-boy really saved your life?" exclaimed Joey. The group had not wasted much time in returning to the Game Shop, but had hit a stumbling block when the realised Yami could not walk. A taxi ride for he, Max and Yugi had solved it though they had hit more difficulties once they were back at the shop. Yami had passed out soon after and had to be taken to bed. Max and Yugi had stayed with him since and had not been seen. That left the others to listen to the events which had transpired for Kai and Kaiba, though Kai had conveniently left out some details of their conversations.

"He did: I would surely be dead had he not been there. Kaiba may be an absolute bastard sometimes, but he saved me, and I was not expecting it."

"Only sometimes? He's been a bastard to you every time we have seen," pointed out Tyson.

"The fact remains that he did save me, despite everything; I just can't understand why though. He could easily finish the Vortex Generator on his own so I don't know why he did it."

"Money-bags is pretty fucked in the head, I don't think we'll ever get the answer to that one."

Kai could not help but chuckle though his emotions were currently all over the place. The blue-haired teen excused himself from the company and went through to his and Max's room; swiftly falling onto the double bed and leaving his thought to run wild.

_This is madness. I thought I was over Crystelle, especially after she shot me during Exposure, but clearly not. Why does she still have a hold over me? I buried those emotions long ago…I stopped my heart from becoming involved…_A certain brown-haired, blue-eyed CEO flashed through Kai's mind, and that was when it clicked. _Shit! I had got over her! I had locked my heart away until I met him…why does Kaiba have to be such a goddamn pain? Not only is he a carbon copy of me when I met Tyson, Ray and Max but he is even more stubborn than me. _Kai's eyes drifted shut as he began to list character traits. _He is stubborn, arrogant, cocky, abrasive, confident, intelligent, protective of and cares for his little brother, attractive…scratch that he is the most amazing thing I've ever seen-_

Kai swiftly opened his eyes and shook his head vigorously. _That better get out of head right now. I have enough issues surrounding Kaiba without him becoming a weakness for me. The sooner we get home then the sooner I can forget about him._ His heart ached at the thought of being parted from Kaiba in only a week or so, but his head was relieved. _At least he brought up one good point: I need to sort my emotions out…but…I just don't know how._

As if on cue, a knock came at the door. "Yeah?" called Kai absently, his thoughts still running away with him. He was so caught up in them that he didn't notice soft chuckling from the door. Kai turned towards it and was surprised. "Maxie? I thought you would be with Yami."

"He woke up about ten minutes ago but then fell asleep again. I thought Yugi would want some time with him after the scare he got."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'll be fine since he's recovering. _You_ are the one I am worried about."

Kai sighed and turned his eyes back to the ceiling. "I don't know how I am anymore," he admitted quietly.

"You aren't over her, are you?"

"I just don't get it! I have met her several times since Exposure and felt nothing. We come here and I freeze every time she gets near me. Why? Why, goddammit why?"

"I think I know what is wrong with you…" Kai turned to the blonde as he tailed off, and only continued when he knew he had Kai's full attention. "You just locked away everything after Exposure and haven't let yourself become attracted to anyone since then. Your feelings for Crystelle have remained trapped there until you allowed yourself to feel again. Basically, they haven't had anywhere to go so have stayed."

"So how do I get rid of them?"

"Direct them somewhere else." Kai swiftly turned away and rolled onto his side. Max sighed gently and wrapped his arms around Kai's waist comfortingly: trying to get him to open up. "Kai, you can't shut yourself away forever. Falling for someone isn't the end of the world."

"It is when they are such an utter jackass."

"Kai, I'll bring it down to the core of the problem; who would you rather fall in love with? Would you rather is be Crystelle, or Kaiba?" The blue-haired teen sighed deeply and fell into silence. Max thought nothing of it until he felt his best friend trembling beneath him. He sat up swiftly and looked to Kai's face, only to find it covered in tears. "Kai?"

"You know what the answer is Max, and I am terrified by it."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to drag him into the centre of things! As long as I deny things, Kaiba will stay out of it, today made sure of that."

"Kai, you said it yourself that Kaiba could finish the Vortex Generator without you. So why did he follow you?"

"I…" That thought had been spinning in Kai's mind for some time, especially as Kaiba had stated he could not finish the Generator without his help. _So why would he…?_

"You starting to see it now? Kaiba went after you because he cares about _you_."

"I doubt that highly, Max."

"Well, I guess we will find out soon enough, but let yourself fall for him, Kai. It will help you get over Crystelle if nothing else. Who knows, maybe you might like it."

Kai scoffed but felt traces of a laugh leaking through as well. Deep down in his heart, he was praying that Max was right.

* * *

Days had passed uneventfully for the group after the double shooting. Yami had spent four days in bed while the shot healed and had been unable to move for pain. It was only after Mokuba had stolen some of Kaiba's painkillers and slyly passed them onto Kai had things improved. Now Yami was able to move about freely again, but had surprised everyone when he said he was going to venture out alone into Domino: stating that he has some business to take care of.

Nobody would have expected that business to be at Kaiba Corp., nor to be with Kaiba himself.

The CEO was inside Lab 23, busy working on the final parts of the framework when the former pharaoh wandered in. Kaiba paid him no heed as he simply assumed it was Kai returning to resume their work. Despite their furious rows about Kai's allegiance, the two had worked side-by-side every day since then, for 13 hours a day to finish the Generator. The two never spoke a word, but neither was fussed about that; neither was quite ready to apologise to the other about how they had acted.

That is the problem when you get two very proud individuals colliding.

Yami wandered over to Kaiba and admired his handiwork. "It looks fabulous," he commented.

Kaiba looked down at him in mild surprise. "Finally up and about?"

"Finally able to move without dying of agony."

"Well my brother always was soft towards you and your friends."

"I hope you didn't give him into too much trouble, Kaiba."

The CEO finally stopped working and faced Yami properly. "I didn't give him any. He came and confessed to me about it that night, so I let it go."

"It's not like you to be so charitable," joked Yami, drawing an icy glare from Kaiba.

"Do not get me wrong, I wouldn't have _given _you the medicine, but I wasn't going to waste time going over to your place to take back a few measly injections."

Yami chuckled. "I see getting shot and meeting the Rescuers hasn't changed you one iota, Kaiba."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Why would it have?"

Yami confidently leant against the machinery, drawing an angry growl from Kaiba for his stalling. "Well, you can't deny that these four are not exactly conventional males."

"And that would matter why?"

"Kaiba, you can stop denying it with me. I am gay, so can see when someone else is." Kaiba's body visibly relaxed at hearing this, relieving Yami, for he had been worried about Kaiba's reaction to him having sussed it. "I know you have been seeing girls only to conceal the fact that you are gay."

"Your point being?"

"Stop being so aggressive towards Kai simply because you find him extremely attractive." Kaiba's eyes widened to the size of side plates. "Aggressiveness is your natural defence mechanism: you are afraid of what you feel for him, which is why you are always so harsh with him."

"It doesn't help that he can't make up his mind what side he is on!"

"He knows, but he can't find an escape from her. He needs to find one."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Try patching things up with him later on. Who knows, the two of you getting along might ease things between everyone."

"I am not being friends with him."

"Did I ever say that? I said just try getting onto good terms with him, it will help you both."

Kaiba snorted and began ignoring Yami once again. The former pharaoh sighed and began to leave, but was not surprised to hear a call from Kaiba as he reached the door. "How long have you known?"

Yami smirked inwardly at the small victory: getting Kaiba to admit he was gay was progress in itself. "Since I gained my own body. I accepted my sexuality within my physical form fairly fast, so I spotted it within you just as quickly. Don't worry though, I won't disclose it to anyone you don't want me to."

Kaiba snorted. "Makes you wonder who else is."

"You, me, Max and Kai as far as I know." Yami could have burst out laughing when he saw Kaiba's mind begin to process the new and revelatory information, but instead held in to when he was out of earshot. No point burning his bridges with Kaiba when he now knew he could get him to open up.

* * *

Kai sensed something was different the minute he walked into the lab. Kaiba seemed slightly edgier, but more relaxed at the same time. It was an odd combination, but not impossible. He took up his usual station at the desk, but now he was feeling jittery too. His instincts were telling him to approach Kaiba, but he himself was not sure as to how willing the CEO would be to talk. Before he knew it, he had spent ten minutes having his mental debate and swiftly realised he was not going to get any work done until things were resolved.

Kai stood and ambled towards the brunette. Dragging in a deep breath for courage, Kai tentatively addressed him. "Kaiba…" The other man turned and faced Kai almost instantly, but he was not showing any aggression, nor giving off any icy vibes. Breathing an inward sigh of relief, he continued. "I want to apologise for how I acted the other day. Some of the things I said were unreasonable."

Kaiba paused for a bit before answering. "As were some of the things I said. Look, let's just agree that we were both out of order and leave things at that, shall we?"

Kai smiled at the fact Kaiba was willing to meet him halfway and nodded. "Agreed. That went much smoother than I thought it would."

Kaiba laughed quietly. "Well I can be an absolute asshole quite a bit of the time, but in general I will be reasonable." The two stood there in awkward silence for a while before Kaiba spoke again. "Right, since that is dealt with, I say we move onto more important parts of the Generator. I have been developing the coding for the journey back and have isolated the Dimension Chip from the main subroutine: that should let us activate and deactivate the chip whenever we want too."

"Impressive. Have you been working on that when I have been heading back to the Game Shop?"

"Yes, I've been spending two or three hours on it per night. Now, take this memory stick and plug it into the computer in Lab 6; that computer has high security and is currently the only mainframe machine with access to the program. That stick will grant you access, download the software and then delete it from the system. Here." Kaiba handed off a memory stick to Kai as he jumped down from working on the shell. "I will head up to my office and clear my schedule for the day so that we can work uninterrupted for once."

"All right, Lab 6 is on the fourth floor, correct?"

"Yes. Take the west elevator, it will leave you the closest to the lab itself."

"Got it, we will meet back here in ten minutes."

The two nodded to each other and both left with a small smile on their face. It may be only baby steps, but they were baby steps in the right direction.

Kai stepped into the elevator and closed his eyes contentedly as it hummed its way up to the fourth floor. He would only be in the lift for seconds, but those seconds allowed him to smile at the progress he and Kaiba had made.

The lift doors opened and Kai found it odd that no-one else was nearby. Usually the first floor upwards was buzzing with activity and the silence was eerie. In fact, it was just plain wrong.

Kai had barely realised something was wrong when and alarm began blaring out through the corridor. The lights switched off and were replaced by red emergency lighting, giving the place a dark and suspenseful atmosphere. _What the hell is that for?_

_Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Evacuate immediately._

Kai did not need to be told twice and made a bee line for the elevator, but it slammed shut in front of him. He tried to pry open the doors but it was not good. He was trapped.

_Shit._

* * *

_Alliance: You absolute BITCH! You cannot leave it there!_

I can and I will so "meh".

**Next update: 5****th**** February, advanced one day for every poll voter plus review for THE PAST TWO CHAPTERS. **

See you soon everybody!


	12. Lockdown

_Alliance: Where have you BEEN?_

I first had Uni exams and since then have not had a minute to myself. I haven't seen _you _helping with my worries much.

_Alliance: I've been busy too, you know! _

Yeah, busy reading fanfiction.

_Alliance: Reading fanfiction is time-consuming, you know that!_

Yes, but on top of that I write as well! Gah…I've had enough of arguing with you, why don't you just get back to reading this and I will take care of business?

_Alliance: Fine…(storms off in a mood)_

(sigh) I don't know what to do with her…anyway, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters (sadly), I am just hijacking them for fun. I only own my OC's, plot and my various screwings of time/physics.

Apologies for the lengthy update time, but here we go!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Lockdown**

_Shit._

Kai froze as he realised the seriousness of the situation: he was now trapped on the fourth floor of Kaiba Corp. and was vulnerable to contagion. Years of fighting for survival kicked in and he quickly quashed the panic building within; concentrating instead on how to gauge what was going on. He took in a deep breath and ran down the corridor to see if any door would open. The first two he tried remained shut but luck finally came through for him when the third opened. Sealing the portal behind him Kai examined his surroundings: he had locked himself in one of the bio-labs and noticed a purple haze present. _I'm guessing that is some sort of gas to counteract the contaminant, otherwise it makes no sense that this room is the only one accessible. What on earth happened here? This floor must have been the origin of the gas if it was already evacuated but why did the alert take so long to be raised? Looks like Kaiba needs to update his system-_

Kai's stomach hit the floor. _Kaiba! Where the hell is he? Could he possibly have been on his way up when everything shut down? If he was… _He shook his head to dispel any thoughts of Kaiba having met his demise and looked around for a computer, sighing in relief when he found it. Quickly bringing it online he was surprised to see it was showing the blueprints of Kaiba Corp., or more specifically, life signatures within the building. Eyes focused in on the minute amount of red dots on the screen, in particular the one trapped in the east elevator. _Kaiba…at least he's alive…for now._

* * *

Kaiba sighed as the elevator doors shut behind him and paced the length as it sped upwards toward his office at the very top of Kaiba Corp. it would take just over a minute for him to get up there, but he would not reach his destination. The CEO had no warning as the elevator jolted to a stop, sending him crashing to the floor. He hissed in pain as his wound was aggravated, and he could feel the tape holding the wound closed had come loose. Placing a hand over the area confirmed his suspicions when it came away with blood on it. "Fucking hell…looks like I'm going to be sacking some more people today. Just what I need!"

Kaiba swiftly stopped his rant when he heard the alarm go off.

_Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Warning: Bio contaminant alert. Evacuate immediately._

Kaiba's eyebrows knotted together. "Strange…if the elevator stopped then it means the contagion is already in here…yet I feel fine." He struggled back up to his feet and accessed the computer. "Access override code 7576. Authorisation: Seto Kaiba."

_Override confirmed. State request._

"Confirm presence of contagion in Kaiba Corp. premises."

_Confirmed. Contagion origin, Lab 4, fourth floor._

_Kai was headed to the fourth floor…I hope he's all right. _"State contagion."

_Contagion not identifiable._

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Not identifiable? Display molecular composition." He watched carefully as the diagram appeared and the raised eyebrow shifted up another inch or so. "So…the big bad gas going around Kaiba Corp. is actually just carbon dioxide. That means someone tripped the system deliberately. Someone else better be in the building or I'm going to find it difficult to break the lockdown." Kaiba brought up the building schematics and took note of the small pockets of life throughout, paying close attention to the designated safe zones in case of bio-contaminant. "The security control rooms, Lab 74, Lab 18 and Lab 6 are the safe zones. Seems as if all of them are empty expect for Lab 6…I hope someone useful is in there: I don't want to have to explain the intricacies of the override commands to an ape."

* * *

Kai sighed as he tried for the umpteenth time to unseal any doors nearby using the computer but once again received the same message: Access Denied. The dual-haired teen almost felt like smashing the technology but instead settled for punching the metal desk; and proceeding to leave a noticeable dent in the structure. He smiled in satisfaction but soon grimaced as the pain sunk in. "Argh…note to self: punching hard objects usually hurts. Next time, pick something softer. Maybe Tyson's face if he's around…?"

Kai almost jumped out of his skin when a voice crackled through the computer speakers, but soon froze as it became clearer. _"East Elevator to Lab 6. Lab 6, do you copy?"_

He scanned the keyboard for some way to answer and found the button to reply. "Kaiba?"

"_Kai? Nice to hear you are there and not some damned fool."_

"Trapped in the elevator, huh?"

"_No, I'm in here because I have an elevator fetish. Course I'm trapped in here you idiot!"_

"Just had to check," chuckled Kai, amused by Kaiba's answer. "Any idea what is going on?"

"_The alarm was tripped deliberately."_

"How are you so sure?"

"_Let me give you a hint: the molecules of gas comprise of one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms."_

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Carbon dioxide?"

"_Agree with me now?"_

"Completely. Next question: who would want to set off the system, and why?"

"_The building is automatically evacuated in the presence of contagion and then locked down. The only way the lockdown can be broken is an internal override or the air composition returning to normal."_

"So no-one can get in or out upon lockdown?"

"_Yes. Rooms are prematurely sealed if infected to reduce exposure to the main building: hence why I am stuck in here and why the fourth floor is cut off."_

"Can anyone move about the building during the event?"

"_Only into areas unaffected. Currently the first, fourth, sixteenth, nineteenth and thirty-third floors are sealed, as well as the basement."_

Kai could almost hear the gears ticking in Kaiba's head as the pair headed toward the same conclusion. "That is an odd collection of floors to be sealed considering this is a gas we are dealing with."

"_I think more appropriately those are the floors which contain all of the safe zones which allow people to remain in the building without risking exposure."_

"In other words, left no margin for interference."

"_Precisely. Clearly, whoever did this did not want anyone left inside while they moved about."_

"Which means they must be here already. Wait a minute…Kaiba, which are the floors with safe zones?"

"_First and thirty-third floors are the security control rooms, while the fourth, sixteenth and nineteenth are labs: all of which are modified to produce specially designed gases to combat contagions."_

"Clever, but did you not say earlier that the basement is sealed as well? Correct me if I am wrong but does a gas not travel upwards rather than downwards?"

Kaiba paused on the other end. _"Then why the hell-"_

"The Vortex Generator," interrupted Kai. "I get the feeling the Crusaders are behind this."

"…_You might be right, nothing else of interest is down there. If that is the case, we need to break the lockdown and re-establish communication to the outside."_

"What do you need me to do?"

"_The two security rooms are where we need to get to. I will head to the one on the thirty-third floor. You need to reach the first floor and once you are there I will explain to you what is needed; firstly though, you need to download and delete the data on the computer relating to the isolation program."_

"I have been trying to use this damn machine to unlock the doors but I can't gain access to the base code. I'm loathe to admit it, but your security system has me beat."

Kai knew Kaiba was smirking and wished he could smack it off him, but there were bigger issues needing attention. _"I designed the system myself, as I am sure you guessed. It will clearly need updating again however since it did not recognise something as simple as carbon dioxide."_

Kai scoffed. "Either that or you simply forgot to tell it that a component of normal air is harmless. What's next? Excess oxygen setting it off?"

The dual-haired teen smirked at the low growl. _"Do you think me to be that stupid?"_

"You have your moments." Kai decided that maybe this was not the moment to be antagonising Kaiba and got back to the matter at hand. "How are we to move about? None of the elevators are working and I can't access the stairwells."

"_I should be able to confuse the sensors for a few minutes. That will allow you to get off your floor, down to the first and get into the control room. If I'm lucky you will leave me enough time to get up to the thirty-third floor before the system reboots."_

"How long will you need?"

"_About ten minutes. I'll give you access to the computer so you complete the download while I set up."_

"Thanks. Hang on a minute, are you seeing what I am?"

"_What?" _Kaiba watched the screen carefully and soon caught on to what Kai was meaning. _"Shit: someone is moving in the basement."_

"I think that confirms our theory; we need to hurry."

* * *

"Hey! There he is!" yelled Tea as Yami came back into the Game Shop. Everyone had been worried sick when Yami had not returned in the hour that he said he would be gone for and had failed to answer any of their calls. Mokuba had even been roped into the search: checking CCTV across the city for the elusive former pharaoh. It seemed even that had been unable to track him down, so for him to just wander back into the shop after being gone for three hours, he was setting himself up for a big fight. "Where the hell have you been?" demanded Tea.

"Wandering about the city, nothing more," answered Yami calmly, displaying his wisdom from his past life.

"Did you not think to call us and let us know?" added Joey.

"Honestly, I simply lost track of time. I have been cooped inside for days so appreciated the freedom."

"We thought you might have been attacked by the Crusaders," whispered Max, refusing to make eye contact with the tri-haired teen.

Yami scowled internally at Max's reluctance to look at him and sighed. "I'm sorry for worrying you all. Has anything happened while I have been gone?"

"Nah, I've just been kicking Joey and Tristan's asses at various games," smirked Tyson.

"Oi! You cheated every time!" protested Joey.

"Oh yeah? How did I cheat?"

"You distracted me with food!"

"I did not! If I had known there was food I would have eaten it too!"

Joey pulled back. "Hang on, you would have eaten the food? The who did it?"

Tristan smiled sheepishly behind the pair as they turned towards him. "Okay so it was me! I just couldn't resist all of it! I may be like a trash can for the amount of food I can put away, but Joey is like a goddamn garbage disposer! And according to Ray so are you Tyson so I thought you two would be distracted long enough for me to win, I just didn't anticipate Tyson being too dim to notice all the cakes, chicken wings, pizza, burgers, hot dogs-"

"You both ate _all _of that food and didn't tell me?" roared Tyson.

"I don't know how you didn't notice," giggled Tea.

"Tyson is just that stupid," teased Ray.

"Take that back!"

"No, because it's true."

"Here we go again," muttered Max with an eye-roll and left the room subtly, only catching the attention of Yami. He frowned and followed as Yugi watched him leave. Before he had a chance to ponder following himself, he had to duck as a console controller was thrown in his direction, having missed its original target of Ray.

"I. am. not. DUMB!" shouted Tyson, oblivious to the fact he had nearly hit Yugi.

Ray however, had not missed it. "Clearly you are that, or you are simply blind for you cannot see consequences of your actions," he hissed at his younger friend, while turning to make sure Yugi was unharmed. "Are you okay, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded while smiling. "I'm fine, thanks Ray. Although, I think I'm going to need to banish a few people from the house for a few hours so that I can clean up the mess from their video game spree, as well as the spray from these two," he gestured to Joey and Tristan, "decimating our food resources."

Ray smirked. "Oh really? And who might that be?"

"Oh, you know: Tyson, Joey and Tristan. I hate to ask, but-"

"Don't worry, I'll keep them out of your way for a while."

"Thank you. All right you three. Out!"

"Come on, Yuge!" whined Joey.

"Yeah Yugi, you know us! We'll help you tidy up!" suggested Tristan.

"And have you lot start another fight? I don't think so. OUT!"

Mokuba sat chuckling in the corner until his phone went off. His face quickly paled when he read the message.

* * *

Yami wandered through to Max's room and was surprised to find it empty. "Max? Maxie, are you in here?" The former pharaoh quickly scanned the surroundings and soon caught sight of the open window. He ambled over to it and cast his eyes upwards. "Max?"

The blonde jumped at hearing the voice but refused to look down at Yami. "Why are you here?"

"Something was troubling you: I was just checking you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't the one who was missing for three hours."

Yami sighed. "Max, I'm sorry for worrying you. I just lost track of time."

Max laughed to himself. "I keep forgetting I've only known you a week. Seems rather surreal."

The former pharaoh smiled. "Only a week? It feels like I've known you a lifetime."

_Nice to know I'm not the only one who feels that way. _"Where were you that you were gone for so long?"

"Will you not come back inside?" Max did not answer, nor did he look down towards the other. "I went to see Kaiba."

Max frowned. "Why did you go and see him?"

Yami shrugged even though Max would not have seen it. "To try and help clear the air between he and Kai; as well as to confirm a theory of mine."

"What theory?"

"One: Kaiba is gay, and two: he has fallen for Kai."

Max's eyes just about bulged out of their sockets. Only after this revelation did he turn his gaze down. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Will you please come down and let me explain everything?" Max once again sat in silence and Yami looked away dejectedly. As he turned away a thump on the window ledge shocked him, but he smiled warmly at the blonde as their eyes met; with Max too smiling earnestly. Yami held out his hand for the younger teen to use and he took it gratefully as he jumped to the floor. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, Kaiba likes Kai, does he?" smirked Max.

Yami chuckled. "He didn't deny it anyway. The only thing he admitted to was being gay, and even on that one he didn't give me a straight answer." Max looked at his strangely. "I called him up on it and he later asked me how long I had known for."

"Ah, now I see what you mean. That certainly is interesting: I think that affection may go both ways."

"I wondered. Have you asked him about it?"

"Yep, and he did the same as Kaiba: not a yes or no, but he gave me as good as that."

Yami laughed quietly. "Of all the people to fall for each other, I would never in a million years have guessed those two originally."

"Nor would I seeing as how explosive many of their interactions end up."

"Actually…that is what made me suspect something was there, on Kaiba's side at least."

"Really?"

"Kaiba _never _loses his temper with someone so quickly, and anger is his natural defence mechanism."

"He is exactly the same as Kai is that way. It is scary how similar those two are; even Mokuba has commented on it."

"Both of them even earned the nickname 'Ice Prince'."

The pair laughed together with broad smiles on their faces as their eyes kept locked together. They stared at each other for several seconds until Max felt something stroke the top of his hand and he swiftly looked down to his hand, which was still linked with Yami's own. Yami too turned his gaze to their joined hands and the two stood in stunned silence. They were actually holding hands and neither made to move away, nor wanted too. Max experimentally moved so that their fingers were aligned and barely intertwined. Soft blue eyes glanced up nervously towards crimson and were met with reassuring warmth, as well as a smile which made the blonde melt.

A sharp knock on the door broke the enchanting moment between the two and they pulled away from each other sharply. "Guys! Something has happened at Kaiba Corp.! Kai and Kaiba may be in trouble!" called Yugi urgently.

Max's face suddenly became contorted with worry. "What is it?"

"Mokuba said the alarm for bio-contaminants has gone off."

Both teens looked at each other in mild panic. "We need to go."

* * *

Crystelle took care to step over the bodies of those unfortunate scientists who had been trapped in the basement following the lockdown and had crossed paths with the Crusaders. She smiled cruelly as the body count reached twenty and passed beyond. Her eyes lit up further when her sight was met with what she was looking for: Lab 23. Crossing the threshold she quickly strode up to one of her men. "Well?" she asked.

"I've got the list of people Seto Kaiba has regular contact with; from that we should be able to establish the identity of the World Soul's host," he answered calmly.

"Excellent, so we can now destroy this Vortex Generator and build our own within our base at a later date, as to make sure the Rescuers are kept firmly out of the way."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"And why not?"

"Because I have just discovered your ex is smarter than we thought. He has written in a program which prevents any new vortexes to be established until a journey is completed."

"Are you saying that we cannot journey to any other worlds until we all return to our world?"

"Exactly. I've got to admit, I did not anticipate this."

"Neither did I, either Kai is paranoid or has incredible foresight."

"Most likely a combination of both. However, this does present us with an opportunity."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well…if we can only conquer one world, why not seize our chance to bring through greater numbers, as well as some of our research?"

"This device is nowhere near completion, or are you blind?"

"I am well aware of that, my lady. What I am suggesting is that we stop them from using the Vortex Generator until we want them to."

Crystelle's eyes flickered in thought while her cruel smile returned to her lips. "What do you suggest?"

* * *

Kai tapped on the keys furiously while calibrating the small earpiece he had found in one of the drawers. He could not fathom why Kaiba had thought to place earpieces in the desks for emergencies, but at that moment he was praising the foresight. Even more surprising was the fact that there were some hidden in the elevators too. "What next? Inside the walls or beneath the floor?" he muttered while fixing the small device within his ear.

"_If you must know then yes there are some there," _stated Kaiba flatly as he concentrated on his own task.

Kai laughed quietly. "Paranoia springs to mind."

"_I call it preparation," _shot back Kaiba defensively, leading Kai to think he was closer to the truth than the CEO would like to admit.

"Yeah, sure. I am almost done on this end, how's it coming for you?"

"_I am ready. We will have 9 minutes 38 seconds before the seals are brought back up. Unfortunately I was only able to access the west elevator as the others are apparently down for maintenance; which is the one furthest from the control room."_

"Are you sure it isn't just another trick in the system?"

"_It doesn't matter if it is. Either way, I can't control them from here. I can get it to go down to the second floor and you will have to go down the north-east stairwell from there. I can open all of the doors from here, but you will only have a window of forty seconds to get through it, so will activate it once you are nearby."_

"All right. I'll be able to tell you once I am on the first floor and from there you can head up towards the second control room." A beep from the computer signalled to Kai he was ready. "The download is complete and the data is wiped from this machine. I'm good to go."

"_Head out of the lab and back to the west elevator. I'll trigger the program once you are in position."_ Kai shut down the computer and left the lab, taking a couple of seconds to adjust to the heavy air, feeling the effects of the excess carbon dioxide. He ran towards the elevator and skidded to a halt as he stood before it. _"Ready?"_

"I'm good. Just keep me updated on the time and I will do the same for you when I take up position."

"_System trip in 4, 3, 2, 1. Engaged." _Kai covered his ears as a high-pitched sound made its way through the loudspeakers, and barely noticed the doors opening. _"Get moving Kai!"_

The blue-haired teen growled and dived in, pressing the button for the second floor. "You could have warned me about the sound," he growled in anger.

"_Yes, I could have," _smirked Kaiba in response, although he did feel a slight pang of guilt. Only slight though. _"Six seconds until the elevator stops."_

Kai exhaled and prepared himself for a sprint out of the elevator. As soon as the doors opened he was off, dashing through the corridors with not a glance backwards. It was fortunate however that he was paying attention to what was going on ahead of him for as he rounded the third-last corner he caught sight of two armed figures at the end of the corridor. "Shit…" he muttered quietly while taking cover around the corner. "Kaiba, come in."

"_What the hell is the hold-up?"_

"I've got two guys armed and poised to shoot up ahead. Care to tell me why you didn't warn me?"

"_There is no-one else on your level, Kai. Not a single life-sign the whole time."_

Kai frowned. "Damn, looks like they have a hold on that system too. I will need time to get rid of these two."

"_You've got 7 minutes 14 seconds. Make it fast as I will need at least 4 minutes."_

"Right…" Kai noticed the steel beams above him and quickly formulated a plan. The teen leapt up to take a hold of the structure and kicked the wall hard to attract the attention of one of the guards. Sure enough, they both heard the sound and one moved forward gingerly to investigate with his gun raised. As he rounded the corner slowly a foot connected with his head sharply, leaving him disorientated. Kai seized his chance and rammed his body into that of the guard and spun back to shoot the other, utilizing the dazed form as an effective shield. One shot was fired towards Kai and he returned with a flurry of his own, bringing down the aggressor in a hail of bullets. His hostage screamed as one shot ripped through his stomach before Kai ended it by snapping his neck. The Rescuer ran over and picked up the other gun, then setting off for the stairs. "Clear for the stairwell."

"_5 minutes 33 remaining. Let me know when you are in the control room."_

"Copy that."

* * *

Kaiba paced the length of the elevator as he waited for the signal to set off. _What is taking Kai so long? He should have reached the control room within 30 seconds and it has been over two minutes. I swear he is such high maintenance, it is unbelievable. He better be all right- _

"_Kaiba, come in."_

"Took your time. Passing over controls to you."

"_I've got it. Elevator starting up now. 3 minutes 19 left."_

Kaiba growled. "I told you I would need four minutes! What was the damn hold-up?"

"_I had to work on my bullet-dodging skills. Didn't quite work as planned."_

The CEO involuntarily flinched at hearing the news. "Are you hurt?"

"_Aww…is big bad Kaiba worried about me?" _A growl was Kai's answer before he continued. _"Just a shot to my left arm and one grazed my right-hand side. I've survived much worse than this. Twenty seconds till you reach the thirty-second floor."_

"I'll need to move it. How many did you take down?"

"_Three of them. Considering the number of Crusaders we came across before, you can expect possibly the same number."_

"Number of them in the basement?"

"_Only two are down there now. No telling how many you will meet. Eight seconds."_

Kaiba wedged himself against the side of the elevator just in case he found some unpleasant company as the doors opened, but luck was with him. As the red light poured in from the corridors the CEO saw he was alone and sped along, heading to the south-east staircase. He encountered no trouble as the door appeared. "Clear for the stairs."

"_You're good. 1 minute 16 left."_

"Hold off on opening the next door until I get up there."

"_Copy that."_

Kaiba waited for the buzz before opening the door, but soon found he was in serious danger. Two Crusaders were ascending the stairs at that exact moment and one opened fire on the brunette. He threw himself onto the opposite set of stairs and set a wild kick out, hoping to catch one of them. The kick missed entirely, but forced the pair to jump back instinctively. He scrambled to his feet and took a firm hold of the railing; waiting for one of them to reappear. Sure enough, one did come into sight after about ten seconds and was caught unawares as Kaiba swung himself around in a fierce kick. He missed the first Crusader but made contact the other's neck, instantly killing him. The CEO sent an elbow backwards to strike the other one but his arm was caught and used to force him into a nearby wall. A sharp cry of pain escaped his lips as his back slammed hard against the metal and found himself at the wrong end of a strangle-hold. He sent out a couple of punched but they did no good. His eyes began dimming as his body was starved of much needed oxygen, but a timely transmission from Kai snapped Kaiba back with renewed determination.

"_Kaiba you've only got 20 seconds left! The door is open, get out of there now!"_

Kaiba swung a leg out and snatched away the ankle of the Crusaders before kicking him down the stairs. Without a backwards glance he raced up the stairs towards the door; all the while Kai was counting down the seconds. _"8, 7, 6, 5, 4. GET OUT OF THERE!" _Kaiba literally threw himself at the door and slammed it shut behind him with only a solitary couple of seconds left. He slumped against the structure and allowed himself a few seconds to regain his breath. _"Kaiba, are you all right?"_

The CEO chuckled. "Now who's worried about who?"

He was surprised to hear Kai laughing at the other end in response. _"Crusaders?"_

"Yes. They won't be bothering us again though."

"_Nice to hear. You sound rather breathless."_

"You would too after nearly being strangled and then having to get up a flight of stairs in record time."

Kaiba could hear Kai wince on the other end. _"Are you badly hurt?"_

"Not any more than I was before. Now, shall we break this lockdown?"

"_Ready whenever you are."_

Kaiba struggled back to his feet, acutely aware of how much his body was suffering from the combined effects of oxygen deprivation, excess carbon dioxide being absorbed and the gunshot wound from a few days ago re-opening. He stumbled along the corridor, just about propping himself up with the wall. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when the door to the control room came into sight and he made it inside. "Kai, the code you need to override is 64923HA80."

"_Jesus, that's a hell of a combination."_

"It's Mokuba's code. Input that while I enter my own." The CEO had to shake himself back to awareness several times as he succumbed to his failing body. "How's it…coming?"

"_That's it. The lockdown is broken: we have regained communication with the outside world. Kaiba…are you all right? You do not sound good at all."_

"I don't feel too great…I'll admit it…Urgh…Stupid…lack of…oxygen…" The CEO then collapsed to his knees gasping for breath. "Guess the…carbon dioxide…was not such a…foolish choice…after all…" He fell to his back and slowly lost his awareness, all the while listening to Kai's panicked calls.

"_Kaiba? Kaiba! KAIBA, ANSWER ME!"_

* * *

_Alliance: What is it with you and cliffhangers?_

Back again are you? I enjoy writing cliffhangers! Anyway, usual policy applies.** Every review deducts one day from next update date.**

By the way, **the synopsis my next Iceshipping fic (independent universe from this fic) is up on my profile page for people to view! Please let me know what you think of it! (privately or within a review)**

**Next Update: 18****th**** February 2011**


	13. Puzzle Pieces

Hi everyone, Negative Alliance is currently away on holiday at the moment so I am hosting you solo. Thank you all so much for being so patient with me, I just hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Quick question: has anyone checked out the synopsis for my next Iceshipping fic, **The Fundamentals of Life**? If they have, can they please let me know their thoughts?

And so, we go onwards. Short chapter, no cliffhanger this time, but still some major points come up.

* * *

**Chapter 12: Puzzle Pieces**

_Fucking hell, come on! How long does a bloody elevator take? _Kai paced the length of the steel box as it sped upwards through Kaiba Corp. It had barely been two minutes since he had lost contact with Kaiba, but every minute counted in his race to find him. _The oxygen deprivation may have caused serious brain damage or worse…NO! I cannot afford to think like that! Kaiba is strong, he will hold on. He must…because I don't know how I could finish this should he die-_

Kai was jolted out of the dark train of his thoughts as the elevator sharply halted on the thirty-third floor. As the doors opened he took a moment to drag in a deep breath, since the air was still very low on oxygen, before sprinting through the corridor towards the security room. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as he poured all of his energy into reaching his endangered partner. Once the doors finally came into sight, Kai pried them apart due to impatience and felt his breath hitch, as well as his stomach hit the floor. There lay Kaiba helpless on the floor: arms sprawled across the metal while his head was lolled to one side. Worst of all, Kai could not see his chest moving.

Shaking himself out of his shock he ran to the controls and altered the environmental settings to increase the levels of oxygen to the maximum safe limit. If Kaiba were to have any chance of recovering fully, he would need the higher amount. Once that task was completed, he knelt next to the CEO's still form and shook it. "Kaiba?" he called as he shook him once again. "Kaiba!" he shouted a little more forcefully, disturbed with how limp the body was. _No…_ "Kaiba! Answer me, you bastard!" screamed Kai, a slight tone of desperation creeping in. Taking two fingers, he placed them gingerly on the brunette's neck: willing there to be a pulse. _He can't be gone…he can't…this wouldn't beat him. _Seconds passed by and he found nothing. Kai shook his head and repositioned his fingers, hoping against hope to find something. Tears began to spring up in the corners of his eyes, but he suppressed them. _Please no…don't let me have lost him too…_

But then, Kai shot his head up and quietened his thoughts as he found hope.

A pulse. A faint one, but it was there.

Kaiba was just alive.

Now, Kai allowed the tears to come forth, but they were no longer of grief; instead of joy. An ecstatic laugh escaped his lips before he could stop it, though he had no wish to do so. He then turned his mind to finding the best way of letting Kaiba regain much needed oxygen. It was obvious what needed to be done: though it would require a hell of an explanation afterward. Resigning himself to the inevitable and explosive fight which would ensue, Kai began shifting the CEO's limp body into the right position.

Firstly, he gently pulled him towards the nearest wall and slid himself down the cold surface, hissing as the change in temperature aggravated the gunshot wound on his side. Once seated, Kai pulled his legs up and propped Kaiba's unconscious form between them as well as against his own chest. After that, he placed the brunette's head on his shoulder and opened his airway fully. Kai let his own head fall back onto the wall and watched Kaiba's relaxed face for any twitch. _It's weird…he looks so different when he is unconscious. He looks peaceful…I wonder if I will ever see this side to him in reality. Maybe it doesn't even exist anymore to him…There is so much about him I do not know, but I am going to find out. _

_I am going to discover the real person beneath, because god knows I lost out on so many years hiding behind my mask._

* * *

Everyone sped towards the Kaiba Corp. headquarters at top speed; just willing Kai and Kaiba to be unharmed, for those two were their only hopes of stopping the Crusaders. No words needed to be exchanged for they knew the seriousness of the situation and knew the consequences were they to be lost: the loss of their world with them. As the towering structure came into sight Mokuba picked up the pace with Yami and Max in close pursuit. It took nearly no time for them to reach the front door. "Roland!" yelled Mokuba once he was in vocal range.

"Master Mokuba!" answered the ever-faithful bodyguard of the Kaiba brothers.

"What has happened here?" Mokuba demanded.

"A bio-contaminant was detected approximately half-an-hour ago, but since then the lockdown of Kaiba Corp. has been broken internally. The source of the contagion is currently unknown, as is its identification; but we do know that your code and Mr Kaiba's were used to allow us access."

"So Kaiba is all right?" asked Yami nervously.

Roland frowned. "He was able to allow external access, yes, but we are waiting until the building is deemed safe; which will take another half-hour to confirm. The danger is that the contaminant will not affect those left in the building until a later time."

"So we are leaving my brother to potentially die in there! Is that what you are telling me, Roland?" snapped Mokuba angrily. He pulled back when he felt Max's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Mokuba. Kai isn't here either, I've been looking for him and there is no sign. Those two will be together and will be okay," assured the blonde with a soft smile. Mokuba nodded grimly and steeped back. "Will you let us know when it is safe to enter?"

"Of course, you will be the first to know," confirmed Roland with a nod before departing to oversee the situation once again.

Max sighed deeply and turned to Yami, his eyes showing tremendous concern. "Nothing to do now but wait."

* * *

It felt like an eternity to Kai before he finally felt a small amount of movement along the length of his body, but when it came is was a massive relief. He allowed Kaiba to shift about and make himself comfortable before his eyes began to flutter open unsteadily. A loud groan escaped him as he attempted to sit up and failed. "You can't move yet," stated Kai bluntly.

"Thank you for that, Captain Obvious," snapped Kaiba back. Though it was meant as an insult, Kai just chuckled. "What the hell happened?"

"You passed out from oxygen deprivation. It is a good thing we had broken the lockdown at that point and the air quality was beginning to return to normal, else you would have suffered some serious brain damage."

"What is the current status of the building?"

"Being cleared by experts before they let anyone back inside. The Crusaders have somehow got away but the corpses I imagine will still be there."

"Did they do any damage?"

"I don't know yet. Checking on you was my first priority," answered Kai strongly, though he doubted his voice held the conviction he wanted it to.

Kaiba scoffed. "As you can see, I am fine. It will take more than a little lack of oxygen to make me croak."

Kai snorted. "You were rather touch and go for a while there." An eyebrow was raised in reply. "You're welcome."

"Fine, now help me up so we can check on the Vortex Generator. They had plenty of time to tamper with it so we will need to fix whatever they did." Kai nodded and helped the CEO stagger back to his feet. Once slightly more steady, the pair set off towards the nearest elevator, with Kai needing to support the brunette as they walked. Kaiba looked down at Kai and noticed a multitude of new wounds. "You took quite a beating."

Kai laughed lightly. "Suffered far worse than this, believe me. A couple of gunshots? No problem."

"Looks to me like a couple of gunshots, a few scrapes and bruises as well as a couple of gouges from close encounters with a bladed weapon."

"Like I said, nothing I can't handle."

Kaiba looked down at Kai seriously as the elevator came into sight. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Of course it does, but pain is manageable is certain areas. Right now, you are in far worse shape than I am, so need the help."

The CEO hissed as he propped himself up in the elevator, allowing Kai a little time to regain his strength. "I don't need a babysitter," he snapped angrily.

Kai simply leant against the wall opposite and answered very calmly. "No you do not, but you are weakened and in need of serious medical attention. There may be traces of brain damage I cannot detect so we need to make sure you have no gaps."

Kaiba snorted. "Trust me, I'm fine."

"The only thing I trust in is that you and I are so similar, thus you will not admit when you are in a bad way."

Kaiba glared. "And you would?"

"Perhaps not, but at least I can admit that it is a serious character flaw of mine and can then trust in others opinions. Trusting others is not a sign of weakness sometimes."

The CEO paused and then backed down. "At least you aren't going off on some friendship speech."

"No, I'm not Tea," teased Kai lightly. The brunette chortled quietly in reply. "I know how hard it is to trust others, and the biggest challenge is stepping out from your protective shell. It is all well and good for others to tell you what to do, but unless you are willing to do it in the first place, all their words do are aggravate you, and force you deeper inside."

"How do you know?" asked Kaiba seriously.

The elevator doors opened as Kai was about to answer, and he began helping Kaiba out. "Because I was once exactly like you. Unwilling to trust anyone except myself because it was a sign of weakness, thus leaving me open for others to take advantage; it took a near-death experience for me to learn the merits and dangers of that trust. The others saved me from drowning on an icy lake to show me how trust can be a good thing, but then…Crystelle showed me the other side of that."

"She betrayed you after you left yourself completely open to her," finished Kaiba while they wandered to Lab 23.

Kai nodded but his attention was soon grabbed by the multitude of bodies strewn across the corridor. "Oh fucking hell…"

"Crusaders. We need to get to the lab. Who knows what damage they have done if this is just down the corridor."

"All of these people were innocent…" growled Kai lowly as he knelt down to check for a pulse on any of them. He didn't need to wait long since their bodies were already going cold.

"Would that really have mattered to them?" asked Kaiba while leaning against a nearby wall. His strength was slowly returning, but it would take a while before he was ready to walk on his own.

"No, and that is what is so wrong about all of this. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time…AARRRGHH! When is this going to end?" screamed Kai in frustration. _More lives lost unnecessarily._

"When we get those bastards back to your world. Come on, Kai, we need to move." Kai slowly nodded and placed Kaiba back over his shoulder. "You couldn't have changed this: you don't have that kind of power."

"That is where you are wrong. I could have stopped all of this from happening had I not been such an idiot."

Kaiba looked down at him strangely. "What do you mean?" Kai declined to elaborate as they finally entered Lab 23. At first glance everything appeared to be as it should be. The dual-haired teen helped Kaiba into a seat and passed him a monitor while inspecting the machinery. "Well they went through quite a lot of files relevant to the Vortex Generator, as well as many of my personal files. Care to pose a theory on that one?"

Kai turned towards him with a puzzled look. "I have no idea what they want with your files. Just another piece to the puzzle of the Crusader plan, though I've solved what they did while they were in here. Four key parts of the generator are missing: the Temporal Stabiliser, the Spatial Gauge, the Matter Capsule and the Integration Core are all gone. They've just stolen the four major parts."

"Which means we can't finish the Vortex Generator any time soon since it took us 5 days to build those in the first place."

"Not only that, but they can build their own one in half the time it would take for us to rebuild the pieces should they have copied the blueprints. We've just ended up more at their mercy than we were before."

* * *

I apologise for the short chapter, but I promise a longer one will be uploaded next time! Usual case with updating.

**Next Scheduled Update: 17****th**** March 2011**


	14. Regrouping

Hi everyone, I am not at fault for this late update! Alliance can back me up on this one!

_Alliance: It's true, strangely enough. All the internet at her university went down and is STILL not back up, so she crashed at my place and woke me up growls so to get this update up for all of us as soon as she could (upon completion of her assignments). And then, when she could get it up, Fanfiction wouldn't allow her to update so it would have been up very early on the 19th, but we'll just have to settle for this. Good thing she finally found out the way to get around the glitch!_

Thanks Alliance. Down to business. I do not own Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of their affiliated characters. I do however own all of my OC's, screwings of time/physics and all my inventions (Vortex Generator and all its internal parts blah, blah, blah). Oh and of course the plot too along.

Btw, I've been wondering, would anyone like me to do a one-shot featuring Iceshipping (Kai/Kaiba) or Turtleshipping (Max/Yami)? Feel free to leave thoughts in a review!

Short chapter again I am afraid but this is so that you can all gain more exciting ones later on! Hope you all enjoy this instalment!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Regrouping**

"Mokuba will you quit it? You are making us all more nervous!" exclaimed Tyson quite suddenly, shocking everyone around him. The group had sat in silence while waiting for Roland to return with news relating to the situation inside Kaiba Corp. Well, all apart from Mokuba, who had spent the first ten minutes tapping his foot off the pavement while sitting next to Ray, after which he had taken to pacing the length of the small courtyard they had taken up residence in. After watching Mokuba pretty much creating the start of a narrow ditch from the repeated movement for nearly twenty minutes, it had unnerved nearly everyone. All were concerned about Kai and Kaiba so it did not take much for tempers to start flaring; especially when some of the people there were not very patient at the best of times.

Mokuba sent his best death glare at Tyson who, surprisingly, did not visibly flinch at all. "My brother could be in there dying from a contaminant, so forgive me for being ever so slightly worried about him!" snapped the pre-teen.

"You aren't the only one with someone dear to you in there Mokuba!"

Mokuba scoffed. "Kai isn't family: you would get over it if you lost him."

"Depends on your definition of family," hissed a voice nearby. Both arguing parties were shocked to hear the venomous tone coming from Max as they turned to face him. "Family is not measured simply by blood; it is much more than that. We have all suffered greatly and because of that, we have found a deeper meaning to our friendship. We _are _family, maybe not in the conventional sense, but we are now a family: so don't you _dare _say otherwise and don't you dare think less of him because he isn't your blood."

The raven-haired barely had a chance to regain his composure before another voice broke through the tension. "Master Mokuba." All spun around fiercely and saw Roland barely five feet away from them. "The building has been cleared, though they have as yet not found any trace of Mr Kaiba-"

Mokuba rushed past Roland before he could even finish his sentence and sped away towards the towering structure. "Mokuba! Wait for us!" shouted Tea and raced to catch up to him. Everyone else migrated towards the building after leaving a quick apology with Roland, but their stomachs were now doing somersaults. The fact that Kaiba was yet to be found could be a good thing…

On the other hand, it could mean the worst had happened.

* * *

Kaiba sucked in a breath as Kai finished taping up his re-opened wound and shifted him over to the other side of the room. "Can't you be a bit more careful?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Fine, if I'm going to treat you like a daisy then I'm going to start calling you the same thing," smirked Kai while going back over to his computer. He looked back towards the CEO and had to hold back a chuckle at the unimpressed look on his face. "Anything else to say, petal?"

"Yeah, shut the fuck up." Kaiba attempted to sit back and cross his arms but only succeeded in aggravating the wound further. He bit back a gasp on pain, but could not manage to stop himself from visibly flinching. A quiet laugh from the dual-haired teen served to further his embarrassment. "Don't. Even. Think about it."

"Wouldn't dream of teasing you, not when you cannot even stand your own ground," answered Kai jokingly, hoping that Kaiba would realise his plan.

Of course, the CEO did not take too long to catch on, and slyly picked up a nearby stapler. "Just because I can't stand doesn't mean I can't outsmart someone as dim as you," grinned the brunette while preparing his weapon.

"Yeah, I'm so dumb that I manage to not almost get myself strangled."

"Maybe so, but you are dumb enough to not know what is coming at you."

"Oh real-" Kai was too slow in reacting to the throw and could not dive out of the way of the stapler in time. Unfortunately, Kai moved the opposite way Kaiba had hoped, and ended up striking him in the gunshot in his arm. "AH FUCK!" The Rescuer crumpled to his knees and quickly placed more pressure on the wound.

Kaiba winced, and now actually felt a few pangs of guilt. "You all right?"

"Yeah, just peachy," he growled back, but the grimace was soon replace with a trademark smirk. "Thanks for that, _petal._"

Kaiba's guilt was swiftly eradicated as anger bubbled up. "Piss off." Kai burst out into laughter and Kaiba soon realised he had lost his self-control. Again. "Damn, that's the third time this week. Why the hell did I agree to make that bet with you?"

"Because you someone who refuses to back down from a challenge, even if it something you think very little of. I must admit, I am surprised at how badly you are doing. Currently I am winning 3-0."

"Don't expect it to stay that way: I will have bested you come the time of your return."

Kai smile fell away and he turned his attention back to his computer. _Our return…I wonder when that may be, or if…maybe we should return at all. We could build new lives here, away from war… If only that were possible. Crystelle knows as well as I that since a bridge has now been opened that this world and our own are forever joined together._

_Wait a minute…what reason does Crystelle have to look through Kaiba's personal files? It's not as if anyone else could be a threat to them and they need to eliminate them. Which leaves…_ "Fuck! I've been such an idiot!"

"What is it?" asked Kaiba concernedly, but he was quickly cut short by the doors opening and a black mass of hair barrelling into his stomach. He yelped out briefly but could not be mad: not at his little brother. But, he wished he could be relieved of the pain. "Mokuba…"

"Oh Seto, I was so scared! We thought for sure you would be hurt when we heard what had happened!"

"Mokuba…"

"Mokuba, let him go," instructed Kai gently. "You are hurting him more."

Mokuba sent a death glare at the blue-haired teen. "Why don't you just get lost? You are probably the reason my brother got hurt in the first place."

"Mokuba enough!" shouted Kaiba before recoiling in agony. A few gasps later he pushed his brother away, and then turned his stern glare on him. "Kai is the whole reason I am alive and you have no right to speak to him like that."

Kai was taken aback by the sudden change in demeanour of the CEO. Since when did Kaiba scold his brother for talking harshly to people when he is guilty of the same thing? The Rescuer just about kept on his feet when a blonde mass quickly blocked his view and buffeted him about a bit. A gentle smile tugged at his lips as he returned the hug. "Hey Maxie."

Max simply settled for clinging to his best friend for a few seconds before pulling back and scanning him. "Nothing too serious I hope?" asked the younger teen.

"Nah, just a shot to the arm and a few bruises, that's all. Kaiba came off a hell of a lot worse," replied Kai while gesturing towards said individual. He looked around and noticed that the number of people in the lab was steadily increasing. "Did everyone come along?"

"Yeah, we were all at the Game Shop when we found out about what was happening."

"Speaking of which, Kai…what did happen?" asked Tristan just as the last couple of people joined them.

"Suppose all of you being here makes explaining earlier. You had best get comfortable because there's a lot to go through." All found a place to sit nearby: Tea and Tristan were sat against a wall, Tyson, Joey and Ray had taken residence upon a desk, Max was standing a couple of feet away from Kai and leaning on the wall with Yami sitting in a seat next to him. Yugi had placed himself on one side of Kaiba while Mokuba was on the other. "Okay, firstly, the bio-contaminant alert was a ruse. The Crusaders fooled the system into thinking a deadly gas had entered the building when in fact it was just carbon dioxide. Kaiba and I were separated on separate floors and tripped the system for a few minutes to allow us to get to the control rooms and break the lockdown. On the way there I took some fire and came out lightly. Kaiba on the other hand had a much harder time of it having to fight his way out of a stranglehold. The carbon dioxide turned out to be a smart choice in that respect since it led to him passing out from oxygen deprivation right after we broke the lockdown.

"I managed to get up to him in time to hopefully cause no serious damage: there may be some brain damage but if there is, it will be minimal as I have seen no obvious signs of memory loss. After he came to we made our way down here, and this is where you found us. I take it you all ran past the bodies on the way here."

"Yeah, when we saw that we feared the worst," stated Yugi while most of the others nodded.

"Were they all killed by Crusaders?" asked Yami, to which both Kai and Kaiba nodded.

"So, what did they want?" said Ray worriedly. He knew if the Crusaders had gone to all that effort, it must be for some end result.

"They stole the four key components of the Vortex Generator," answered Kaiba. "The Temporal Stabiliser which ensures that the vortex generated will be able to remain stable for the whole journey, the Spatial Gauge which makes sure those concerned, when re-integrated, do not end up materialising within a wall or some other object be it inanimate or otherwise, the Matter Capsule which converts your body into complex strains of atoms and stores the pattern while you are travelling, and the Integration Core which allows your body to be rematerialized into perfect form come your exit from the Vortex. Basically, they took everything needed to make sure you survive any journey undertaken. That, as well as some of my personal files; which I don't understand."

"I have a theory on that: or rather, I believe I know why they did that, and I actually believe that was the whole reason for them going to all this bother," continued Kai, gaining all the eyes in the room as he spoke. "When I first met Crystelle I had no knowledge of time, nor anything like it. I only actively realised I knew all that stuff after coming in contact with the World Soul, and Crystelle seemed to be the only other person with such knowledge. This led me onto a strange thought but I completely disregarded it until now.

"There is an area in the brain known as the Central Cerebral Cortex which is inactive in most human beings. Crystelle and I are the only ones in the world which seem to have it active; coincidence? I think not. After a while I put it down to chance but…to begin with, I wondered if it became active due to our contact with the World Soul. Due to so many unknown factors I dismissed the thoughts but looking back on it now, I think it may be true."

"What does this have to do with my brother's personal files exactly?" snapped Mokuba impatiently.

"I have an understanding of Dimensionality, Mokuba, and I am guessing this understanding comes from this dormant area of the brain," stated Kaiba slowly as he realised the implications of the situation. His eyes met Kai's with a seriousness the blue-haired had never before seen. "You believe that I've had contact with the World Soul at some point."

Kai nodded gravely. "It must be someone you have at least frequent contact with since it can't have been activated directly. I think they have taken the information to acquire potential hosts for the World Soul. We'll need to do scans of everyone to see if we can gain a better picture of what is going on."

"Great, something else to worry about," groaned Tyson while rolling his eyes. "Hey guys, should we not go after the Crusaders and reclaim the stolen parts of the Vortex Generator?"

"Might be an idea based on everything we've heard," agreed Tea.

"Shouldn't we focus on finding the World Soul first? I mean, isn't that kind of a bigger issue?" queried Tristan.

"If they find it, it's game over. Trust me, you guys haven't seen the devastation and event such as Exposure can cause, but it is devastating," added Ray.

Yugi too soon became involved. "Both things are important, can't we do both at the same time?"

"It would be too dangerous to spread ourselves out without more information," explained Max. "What is they capture one of us? Then what?"

"We'd kind of be at a loss of a plan then…"

"Whoa, you are all over-thinking this," interrupted Kai. "First thing is first: we need to see who else has had contact with the World Soul. Once we find out that, we can send out those who haven't to look for the missing pieces while those who have remain behind to help Kaiba and I rebuild this thing: we need all the help we can get. Sound good?" Everyone around the room nodded. "Okay, Kaiba and I will set up the gear after he's been checked out; in the meantime, you guys should split up around Domino and see if the Crusaders have targeted anyone else. If they have, it may help us narrow down who the host is."

"Kai, this may turn out to be a pointless question, but what if one of us is the World Soul?" All eyes turned to Yami in shock. "Is it not a possibility?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed with you Yami. However, I've gained a sort-of-sense when it comes to World Souls after such close contact. If it was one of you, I would have been able to feel it." This statement sparked the interest of both Max and Kaiba, and both made a mental note to ask Kai about it later. "We should get moving, I will need all the time I can get to set up the scanner and process all the collected data since I'm no doctor."

"Okay! Let's go!" exclaimed Joey joyfully while leaping to his feet. The silence in the room afterward was then broken by a rather large rumbling of a stomach: namely Joey's. The blonde blushed madly while everyone else looked on bemused. "Er…you think we can get a pizza on the way? I'm kinda starved."

Everyone burst out laughing save for Kai and Kaiba who settled for just shaking their heads. Who would have thought that the fate of the world rested on all of them when you saw them at a time like this? Though their time was swiftly running out…

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Next Scheduled Update: 30****th**** March 2011**


	15. Small Steps

_Alliance: Woohoo! New chapter!_

Yes, and I am so glad that I could write this chapter in peace, though when it came to uploading, I had problems with my account, so multiple emails to later, here we are. This is the earliest I could get it up (sorry everyone). BUT THE PROBLEMS ARE NOW SOLVED, WOOHOO!

Oh, and very big thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story. **Now past 50 reviews! **I wonder if we can reach 100 before the end (which is not for a little while yet, don't worry).

Special thank you's: **Dani Hiwatari, Aly-K-H, BurningWhiteTwilight, imma-pink-buble, FlamingIce94, Angel T-chan Nekoi **and** andysanime **for being such great reviewers!

**Special Note: First Iceshipping one-shot "The Edge of Darkness" is coming up within the next few days, keep your eyes peeled! If you want to get an idea of what it is about, listen to the song "Where Is The Edge" by Within Temptation.**

A bit of help with the disclaimer?

_Alliance: But of course! Negative Angel does not own Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of their affiliated characters. She does however own her plot, OC's and various inventions/theories._

Enjoy everyone!

**Chapter 14: Small Steps**

"Well?" Kai turned around to see Kaiba right behind him. The dual-haired teen smiled slightly at seeing him out of the hospital so quickly, but had to think that the poor doctors wouldn't have had a choice in the matter as to whether he stayed. Kai knew what the CEO was worried about, and was more than happy to clear his mind of worries.

"Nobody else's cerebral cortex is active. It's only you."

Kaiba sighed in relief. "So it can't be Mokuba…"

"Nor anyone else we know since it would have passed between them all, assuming we are right in that theory. But it leaves the question as to who it is."

"There are plenty of people I deal with on a near-daily basis who could be potential hosts, though we wouldn't be able to warn them without alerting the Crusaders to our intentions. We'll just have to leave them all be."

"Well, at least we can rest easy now and set out for the missing pieces; though I imagine you would want Mokuba to remain here with us?"

"That goes without saying."

"I'm sure he'll understand, though I am concerned about this. What if they stole those components simply to lure the others out and pick them off?"

"I can't comment fully, but from what I have seen…" The pair met eyes when Kaiba paused. "This might be another of Crystelle's ideas. What did you ever see in that bitch?"

Kai quickly turned his attention away by diverting his sight to the results screen once again. "I wonder that every day."

Kaiba sighed at seeing the defeated look on Kai's face. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for, as was a lot of what I have said regarding the two of you." The CEO had to stifle a laugh at the shocked look he received. "I do jump to conclusions, and I must admit that I jumped to the wrong one about you."

"What on Earth made you change your mind? God knows nothing I was saying was getting through that stubbornness of yours."

"I found the security footage of the lockdown and saw you take down those Crusaders mercilessly. When I saw that, I saw your pure hatred for everything they stand for." Kaiba conveniently didn't mention the other footage he had found…specifically Kai's reaction to his passing out. He hated to admit it, but he had got Kai wrong. Very wrong.

"They showed no mercy to all those scientists they had killed, why should I show them any?"

"It goes a lot deeper than that, I can see it. You aren't someone who just lets a single event define your emotions. What happened to cause it?"

Kai paused briefly and stood from his chair. He moved to another at the side of the office, with Kaiba taking the seat next to him. The two sat in a tense, yet relaxed silence. For once, the dual-haired felt fairly at ease in telling his story to another. For some reason, he felt that Kaiba would understand: if what Mokuba had said of their past was an indication, the two could relate to each other in more ways than they had initially realised. "How much do you know?"

"About the Crusaders? Nothing more than the first-hand experience of everyone since they arrived."

"Not just them, about all of us, the Rescuers, before everything fell into chaos."

"Nothing."

Kai sighed deeply: this was going to take a while. He rustled a few items in his pocket before he produced a small collection of photos, totalling roughly a dozen. Handing them off the CEO, he began his tale. "We weren't that different from all of you: we made our living through playing the game we lived. While you have Duel Monsters here, we have a sport called Beyblading, which involves spinning tops. But these are no ordinary spinning tops, for inside them live ancient spirits which we call Bitbeasts. They are our companions: we call upon them when we need them, and they helped us win our battles." He watched as Kaiba flicked onto a photo taken right after the end of the Third World Championship the four of them had competed in. "That is from right after Tyson became World Champion for the third time in a row, and once again, I had come second to him. Not long after that, a new organisation called BEGA had popped up to take control of the sport by creating a new PRO division."

"Sounds like things didn't go down too well."

"Well, when our team fought to get rid of them, I ended up in the most serious fight of my life against a blader named Brooklyn. At that point our team had drawn one and last two, with just Tyson and I left: we needed a win. It went on for a very long time…and pushed my body to its limits. Throughout that battle I had only one thing on my mind, which was to defeat Brooklyn, no matter the personal cost. He had beaten me once and I wasn't about to lose to anyone but Tyson ever again. I won, but it came at quite a price since I was in hospital for a long time afterwards."

Kaiba stared at Kai intently, and surprised the dual-haired teen in his next statement. "That isn't the truth, or at the very least, there is something you haven't told me."

Kai smiled wryly. _Damn, he can read me far too well. _He leant back and closed his eyes in thought, unaware of Kaiba's eyes scanning his body in detail. Only now did the CEO notice just how great a specimen Kai was: perfectly sculpted muscles in his arms in chest, handsome face, stunning eyes…the list could just go on. He quickly reverted to his usual self when the amethyst orbs opened once again. "You are right, there is something I haven't told you. Something that only two people have ever known; one alive and one now dead." He paused to look at Kaiba seriously. "Everyone thinks that battle nearly killed me, but they are wrong. It did kill me. I only made it as far as the corridor before I felt my body giving up. At that point, there was only one this left to do, and that was to set my bitbeast free. I let Dranzer go, and in the moment she left, I felt my remaining strength leave with her. Now that I think about it, she was my main concern, and if I didn't know better, I may have given her my last energy to make sure she survived." Kaiba looked at Kai in understanding: had one or more of his Blue-Eyes been endangered, he would have given his own energy to ensure they survived.

"Tyson's brother, Hiro, stumbled across my body a couple of minutes afterward. When he found me, he said that I was surrounded by a red light, before turning into a small fire. It entered me and brought me back. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital bed with Hiro telling me what had happened: Dranzer sacrificed herself to bring me back. Good thing she's a phoenix, or she would have been gone for good, though neither of us knew she could."

"So your friends don't know that you've already died once? Did you not say that two people knew?"

Kai smiled. "Yes, Max knows, and I said that one of the two people who knew were dead." Kaiba turned away and sighed, awaiting Kai to continue. "I told Max a few months ago after a fairly serious attack we had suffered. Hiro was among the 4 billion people who died during Exposure, along with the rest of Tyson's relatives, Max's family and Ray's entire village. That battle with Brooklyn made me realise that…life can go by and you can do nothing of significance. After that…I had a big personality change, and set out to do more.

"After recovering, I went out to train kids in my homeland of Russia, which is where I came across a camp for the homeless ones. I helped them out for a week, and I found myself becoming good friends with the girl who set it up. And low and behold, I return to the rest of the team three weeks after leaving for Russia and am introducing my new girlfriend to them."

"Crystelle."

Kai nodded solemnly. "As the others will testify, the girl I met in Russia is very different from the girl she is now. The two and a half months we were together were great and I'm not ashamed to admit that. Unfortunately, she showed her true colours when I paid a visit to a monastery once we were back at the camp. I had gone to them to ask for their help in sheltering the kids before a large snowstorm was due to hit, but ended up being cornered by a monk who was rattling off a warning about protecting the world from the descendants of an ancient race. He told me to go to Thailand and take a young girl from an orphanage there; I disregarded his warning completely and began to leave, but another monk simply left me with six words as I headed out the door. 'The World Soul needs a protector.' Crystelle said she had to go home the day after so it left me thinking about their words. The more I thought about it, the more I needed to put my own mind at rest that I hadn't made a terrible mistake in ignoring them. I headed off to Thailand and arrived just in time to find Crystelle killing the host of the World Soul. Turns out she had tried to join me in the monastery and overheard everything, giving her all the information she needed." Kai stood and punched a wall in frustration. "How the hell could she have acted against her nature for so long and I didn't realise it?"

Kaiba stood and stopped next to Kai. "What does it matter now? What's done is done, and what matters, is what you do now to stop her. You can't let your previous attachment affect you. If you do, more people are going to die. What will you do then?"

Kai kept his eyes fixed away from Kaiba, and refused to even think about that scenario. He picked up his computer and headed towards the door. "We should let the others know the results." Without another word, Kai walked out the door. Kaiba growled lowly at the sudden frigidness, but should have expected it, for he would have done the exact same thing after revealing so many personal secrets. Hell, Kaiba would have walked off long before now. The CEO took his time in following for he knew Kai was going to want some time to himself.

* * *

The group were sitting in a tense silence in the lounge of the Game Shop as the minutes ticked by. Hours had passed by since Kai had taken samples from each of them and had conducted multiple scans: the waiting was the worst part. They didn't know which was worse, coming back positive and someone they know potentially being the host, which they could protect, or someone only Kaiba had any contact with who was out on their own, but then they would be better hidden from all. Either way, the situation was not ideal and time was running out.

Ears instantly perked up when they heard the front door open and everyone was surprised when they heard two very distinctive voices in a civilised conversation. Joey's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Since when do Kai and Kaiba get on?"

"Who knows, maybe they've decided to get on for the benefit of the rest of us?" suggested Tea.

Max leant over and whispered into Yami's ear. "More like they're experimenting with how much they can pull each other out of their shells."

Yami turned to him and smirked. "I think this confirms our thoughts."

"Yep, now just to get them to realise it."

"They are the most stubborn people we know, so it will be a challenge." The two continued to whisper away with a pair of soft and overjoyed eyes watching them. Never had he seen Yami so close to anyone and it very much looked like his feelings were returned in earnest. He could only hope things between the pair would blossom further. The room fell strangely silent as they heard Kai and Kaiba reach the top of the stairs; the tension was noticeable as the duo appeared at the doorway. Max noticed that Kai looked stressed while Kaiba seemed mildly annoyed. He had the sinking feeling that their personalities were clashing again and hoped things between them were not damaged, though if their earlier conversing was anything to go by, maybe they were making progress after all. _Small steps, that's the only way to break through their shells I suppose._

"So, what's the word, Kai?" asked Tyson nervously. The nerves kicked into overdrive when the dual-haired sighed deeply. "Is it bad?"

"Okay, there's good news and bad news. The good: no-one else has had contact with the World Soul, with the bad news being that we now have no idea where the host is, and with the Crusaders having compiled a list of Kaiba's contacts, we are already behind in tracking them down. Unfortunately, this means we have to take some rather daring tactics to make up for lost time."

"We need to track down the missing pieces of the Vortex Generator before they locate the host, and there is only one way of doing it quickly," added Kaiba.

"Splitting up," stated Ray darkly. Kai nodded and the Chinese boy sighed. "Well, all of us are used to facing the Crusaders so we know what we are dealing with, but for some reason we can't predict their moves this time."

"That's because Crystelle is in charge, and she is pushing them all beyond their normal limitations by using their fear of her to her advantage."

"Just when I thought I couldn't despise that bitch any more than I already do," hissed Max in the corner, leading Yami to squeeze his knee comfortingly. The blonde fell back and allowed Yami to wrap an arm around his shoulders while he calmed down. Kai smiled at the display for the briefest moment, which only Kaiba saw, before turning his focus back to the issue at hand.

"There are four pieces missing and since I need to stay in the lab it means that only three of us will be out searching. We just have to hope that all the pieces are relatively nearby and undamaged, else things could become even more complex."

"Who said anything about only three people being out searching?" All eyes turned to Joey. "Why can't we go out with you?"

"Yeah, we can help you guys out!" said Tristan enthusiastically.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," interrupted Tyson.

"You lot don't know how dangerous things could get, you don't have to get involved," agreed Ray.

"Maybe we should ask someone who has experience in such things," suggested Yami, while looking at Kaiba. Now he was looking, he could see the slight bulge where the bullet wound was strapped up, as well as the bruising imprints of fingers on his neck. Kai too was bandaged up but neither was letting on if they were in pain, though just looking at the pair gave them a fair idea of the dange they would be getting into.

Kaiba locked eyes with Kai briefly before answering. "This lot are a much more realistic danger than anything we have come across, and are a hell of a lot smarter. I can't comment on the rest of you, but looking at me will give you an idea of what you will face out there. Mokuba." Said teen turned towards his older brother. "I'm not going to order you to do anything regarding this situation. But…I would feel much better about this situation if you would stay in Kaiba Corp. and try to gather intel rather than being out in the open." Kai felt a small flash of joy through his body. Unbeknownst to the others, Mokuba's role in this plan was what the pair had been debating when entering the game shop. It seems Kai's suggestion of asking rather than ordering had been taken on-board, much to his surprise.

"Seto, I-" Mokuba cut himself off before he answered. He realised that his brother was asking him to do something for once, and it stopped the automatic defiance from rising up. "Okay, I'll stay at Kaiba Corp."

"Thank you, Mokuba." Kaiba was reluctant to meet Kai's eyes again, but he was surprised at what he found when he finally did. Instead of smug triumph, he saw joy and pride in his actions. _I really did judge him too harshly to begin with. _

Kai turned away with a tiny smile and addressed the rest of them. "If you are all going to get involved, then I suggest going into partnerships. It's up to you lot what you do."

"Well, Yami and I get on pretty well and we can both get out of trouble, maybe we should team up?" suggested Max with the faintest trace of a blush dusting his cheeks. The former pharaoh looked at him in mild surprise but then nodded his head.

"I'm not exactly a good fighter, so I would need someone to protect me," said Tea quietly.

"Well, Ray's the best fighter," stated Kai, leading to Ray rolling his eyes in disgust. Unbeknownst to the dual-haired Tea had developed quite the attachment to him and it was irritating Ray to no end since he had zero interest in her. He felt some anger bubble up but quickly quashed it seeing as Kai had not been around enough to know all that had gone on.

"I'll look after her," he stated plainly, leading Tea to smile brilliantly while the others shot sympathetic looks his way.

"Well, just leaves someone to partner me then," said Tyson in an attempt to get the attention off Ray's predicament.

"I'll go with you Ty, which leaves Yugi and Joey to go off together, you all right with that you two?" asked Tristan.

"Yeah, Yuge and I can handle ourselves no sweat. Those Crusader creeps ain't gonna know what hit em'!"

"We'd better get back to the lab, time is not something we have," stated Kaiba rather suddenly and nodded towards the door, sending a rather large hint to Kai. Translated: 'I don't want to spend any more time here than I need to'. Amethyst eyes rolled in amusement before he followed the CEO out the door.

He slowed down as he heard footsteps behind and turned to face Max. "I'm fine, before you ask."

The blonde smiled. "Actually, that wasn't what I was going to say." A single eyebrow was raised in response. "I want to ask you about something you said earlier: you said that you could sense World Souls due to close contact, was that from Exposure?"

When all emotion left Kai's face, Max knew he had touched upon a very sensitive subject. "I'd better catch up to Kaiba. I'll see you later Maxie." Max looked on sadly as Kai walked out the door, but knew how to interpret his actions.

Kai still wasn't ready to tell the truth about what happened during Exposure, and Max was beginning to suspect he wasn't the one who would convince him to tell all.

* * *

Hours had passed in the lab and both Kai and Kaiba were exhausted. Kaiba had lost his trademark trench coat and had relieved himself of the black turtleneck, revealing the skin tight black vest concealed beneath. The dual-haired was struggling to keep his eyes away from the CEO but was struggling away with fixing some of the metal cords to the floor to stabilize the Vortex Generator. They had spent the morning attaching six cords to the ceiling and were currently finishing the third one on the floor. Everyone else was out in Domino searching for the missing pieces to the generator while Mokuba, as agreed, was investigating potential Crusader attacks elsewhere. So far he had three murders, seven muggings, twenty stabbings and sixteen shootings to go through since the arrival of the Crusaders: it felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The sound of metal creaking caught the attention of both teens and they looked around for the source. Kaiba was placed the hand-held computer on the desk while Kai ignored it and went back to securing the thick supports for the machine. The groaning came again, louder this time, and Kaiba's guard went up. Kai spared it, and Kaiba, a single glance before turning away. As the sound of metal buckling ripped through the room, Kaiba quickly turned his eyes skyward and was met with the sight of one of the supports coming away from the ceiling. He knew for a fact those cords weighed a hell of a lot since it took the full efforts of both of them to raise them up, let alone attach them; and he knew if it fell, it would crush anything it met on the way.

When the roof started to give out, Kaiba's heart rate hit the roof as he realised where it was going to land: right on Kai. "Kai, move!" The dual-haired looked at him strangely before looking up and recognising what was happening. All he could do was watch as the cord left the roof and hurtled towards the floor, unable to move away fast enough. He felt a sharp pain in his side and held his breath waiting for much worse pain, but it didn't come as a deafening crash resounded through the lab. It took him a couple of seconds afterwards to realise that he was propping himself up on something warm…and sweaty.

Kai let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding as his body tried to rid itself of all the sudden tension. "Thanks," he breathed out heavily, still slightly in shock of what had nearly just happened.

Kaiba too let out a deep breath as his own body calmed from reacting so suddenly of its own accord. "You're welcome," he just about managed to get out before dragging in a few deep breaths. Kaiba was leaning against a side of the generator with one hand clamped onto Kai's waist with the other was holding the dual-haired's back, keeping him close. Kai's left hand was glued to Kaiba's left arm while the other was pressing lightly against the CEO's chest and his slightly shaking form upright. As another ripple of nervousness escaped through the smaller teen the hand on his back tightened slightly as a comforting gesture. Both were panting away after the near-escape and were welcoming the comfort of having the other nearby, and safe.

It was Kai who first came back to a semi-calm state after roughly half a minute, and only then realised the position he was currently situated in. His cheeks flushed slightly redder than they already were but thankfully he could blame it on the heat of the room. "Em…Kaiba."

The CEO snapped back to reality and reluctantly moved his hands away. "Er…sorry." He took a step to the side and allowed Kai some breathing room before turning his eyes to the damage left behind. "This'll take a while to fix," he sighed exasperatedly.

"I swear something is out to kill us. Piss someone off?"

"Wouldn't be the first time and hopefully not the last." The two looked at each other and shared a laugh. "Suppose we should get back to it."

Kai nodded and turned to head off and examine the damage. "Thank you, Kaiba."

He only got so far before Kaiba spoke again. "Seto."

The dual-haired turned back in bemusement. "Excuse me?"

"That's Seto to you. Don't flaunt it around though."

Kai had to fight the smile threatening to break through. "Wouldn't dream of it." He smirked. "Does that make us 'friends' now?" he teased lightly.

Kaiba scoffed. "Don't push your luck." The two smiled at each other for a few more seconds before they were disturbed by Kai's phone ringing. He swiftly picked up.

"_Kai?"_

"Hey Maxie, what's going on?"

"_Well…I've got good news, bad news, and worse news."_

Kai cringed. "Why do I get the feeling you are calling about the worse news?" His anxiety kicked up a couple of notches when there was a pause on the other end. "…Max?"

"_Kai…Tristan and Tyson have both been shot…"_

* * *

Note: I don't know if Dranzer is female or not, but for the purposes of all my fics, this is the case! It may not hold much significance in this story, but it will in my next Iceshipping story "**The Fundamentals of Life**".

Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I need to keep my readers coming back for more! Feel free to let rip at me!

**Next Scheduled Update: 24****th**** April 2011**


	16. Dockland Dangers Part I

Here we go everyone: I split this into two parts since I wasn't happy with the original ending, so you will find out the conclusion next time around.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. I do own my OC's, inventions, physics messings and plot.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Dockland Dangers Part I**

"Okay, so are we all clear on the plan?" asked Joey as the group approached the edge of the Domino Docks. Mokuba had sent word to them of increased activity down there over the past days, leading them to suspect the Crusaders were using the area as a base of operations. The younger Kaiba was coming to meet the eight-some before they went it, citing that he needed to pass on some essential items.

"Yeah: you and I will take the South side of the docks with Ray and Tea while Tristan, Tyson, Yami and Max will tackle the Northern piers," answered Yugi while keeping an eye out for Mokuba.

"Remember, don't stray more than a hundred metres from your other group or you risk leaving yourselves vulnerable. We saw what damage they caused to Kaiba Corp. and it is easy to see the remains of that experience on both Kai and Kaiba," stated Ray darkly.

"Kai is one of the toughest, and one of the most experienced, people in existence when it comes to fighting the Crusaders, and even he came away with fairly serious injuries. And from what I've seen, Kaiba is just as hard so for him to have had his life threatened by them should serve as warning enough," added Tyson.

"Just keep your wits about you and get out of there if you think something is up. That is what has kept the four of us alive in our war, and it can't hurt to continue to follow a working strategy," finished Max, while keeping a subtle eye on Yami. The former pharaoh had been uncharacteristically distant since they had found themselves heading towards the area, and Max knew something very seriously affecting him. He could only pray it was something minor.

"Hey guys!" All eyes turned to the voice of their new arrival: Mokuba. "I've brought the stuff: Kai said you three would like the variety," said the raven-haired boy, gesturing at the three Rescuers.

"Variety?" They opened the crate which had been brought by security guards, and Tyson's eyes lit up. "Oh sweet!" He dove in and picked up the AK-47 which had grabbed his attention. "Where the hell did you get all these?"

"They were scavenged from the aftermath of the lockdown: most of them were discarded and out of ammo while some were found still loaded on Crusaders that my brother and Kai had taken down."

"Wait…these are the weapons that the Crusaders used to try and kill them?" Tyson paled at the sheer number of guns in the box. "How many of them were there in that building?"

"We still don't know I'm afraid. Oh, Max?" Said blonde gave Mokuba his undivided attention. "Kai told me to give you these: apparently he's modified them specifically with you in mind." The younger teen held out two hand guns for the older one to take, and paid close attention as they were being inspected. Max raised one gun and took careful aim at a nearby bin. Everyone jumped back in shock as a laser was fired and obliterated the object. "Holy shit."

"Kai knows I've always had a thing for lasers; it doesn't take him long to outfit a weapon to discharge concentrated energy rather than simply bullets."

"Pretty handy having a best friend who is so adept with technology."

Max turned to Joey and smirked. "Best friend? Oh no, Kai and I are much more than that."

"Wait…are you two...? But you told us you weren't."

Max laughed to himself quietly while shooting Tea an unimpressed face. "We are not a couple, for the thousandth time. I think a better description of our bond would be that we have a brotherly relationship." His mind momentarily switched off, allowing his heart to express something it had been gagging to get out for so long. "And just to say, I may not be in a relationship with Kai nor will that ever happen between us, but it doesn't mean that I am objecting to having one at all." When he came back to his senses, Max realised what he just said. _Oh shit! That was NOT meant to come out!_

The looks of shock on everyone's faces were priceless; well almost everyone. Two tri-haired teens were showing very different emotions: the taller was wide-eyed and was failing to mask the hope shining brightly in his eyes, while the other was positively beaming. Mokuba was about to say something but his phone rang, interrupting any thoughts he was about to have. "Hey Roland, what have you got?"

"_Reports of unaccountable energy spikes in some of the warehouses across the past week, looks like we may have a legitimate lead. Your brother has requested me to remind you that you are wanted back at Kaiba Corp. ASAP."_

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. Tell Seto I'll be back in about five minutes. Did he mention anything about how the repairs are going?"

"_No, he was summoned back to the lab soon after approaching me. Apparently they have reached a critical point in the construction."_

"Okay, thanks Roland. I'll be there soon." Mokuba hung up the call. "Sorry guys, I'd best head off."

"No problem Mokuba, you mind giving us a heads up on how those two are doing when you get back? I'm worried those two are going to encourage each other to work overtime," stated Tyson.

Yugi laughed. "Sounds about right."

The smallest member of their group began to move away. "Be careful everyone!"

"You too Mokuba!" Once he was out of sight, multiple sets of nervous eyes took in the guns. "Er…anyone know how to fire a gun apart from Tyson, Ray and Max?"

"I do," came the synchronized response from Tristan and Joey, earning shocked looks from Yugi, Yami and Tea. "Well, Tris and I kinda had to learn how to use 'em when we got involved in the gang. Not somethin' we're proud to admit, but we do know how to fire a gun."

"Well, any preference then?"

"I always rather liked handguns," muttered Tristan, looking up only when a smiling Max handed him a pair. "What about you man?"

"I was always rather partial to automatics myself," admitted Joey, shyly taking a weapon from Ray. "Probably best if Yuge, Yami and Tea don't take anything too volatile, or anything too large."

"In that case, I think these should do the trick." Tyson held out some small handguns to the other three, all of whom had slightly nervous looks on their faces. "All of these guns have safety catches on them, so they won't fire unless you want them to." After a shared look of doubt, they each took one weapon. "Maybe we should take the rest and make use of them if we need to?"

"We're going to have to since there are no magazines to reload."

"WHAT? You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Joey stuck his head in the crate in disbelief, only re-appearing a full ten seconds later. "How stupid is that?"

"It's pretty smart actually: rather wasting time reloading you can just switch weapons. Alright guys, load up." The rest of the weapons were spread out fairly evenly between Ray, Tyson, Joey, Tristan and Max. "Everyone ready?" Synchronised nods could be seen across the group: some nervous, some strong. "Okay, see you all once this is done and dusted. Just try not to get shot."

"Thanks for the obvious advice Ray," deadpanned Joey. They all waved each other off as they split into two groups, and eventually fanned out into their partnerships. The thoughts of danger were never too far from their minds as they began their search.

* * *

"You getting anything Tyson?" asked Tristan as they rounded the third warehouse.

"Radiation readings are picking up: we must be close to a piece." Tyson tapped his headset. "Maxie, you got anything?"

"_Nothing on our end Tyson, what about you two?"_

"We've got a small surge in radiation that we're about to check out."

"_You might want to be careful: Yami and I have already had to evade being seen by a few Crusaders."_

Tristan gulped. "So…do you think they are guarding the pieces…or is it worse?"

"Max, what is your gut feeling?"

"_Trap. Hold off on moving in until Yami and I reach you. We'll be there in about 5 minutes."_

Tyson was about to argue back before a gunshot whizzed between both he and Tristan, forcing the pair to dive for cover behind nearby crates. "You might wanna step that up, Max, we're taking fire!"

"_What?"_

"Like Tristan said, we're taking fire!" Another bullet missed Tyson by inches. "And a lot of it!"

"_We'll be there as soon as we can!"_

"We may not be here soon!" Tyson turned off the headset and readied his gun. "You ready?"

Tristan nodded while cocking his two handguns. "As I'll ever be!" In one swift movement, Tyson dove over and took cover in between some containers. He quickly sprung up and fired on the two Crusaders he quickly caught sight of, though it soon became apparent that there more than two of them there. A lot more.

"Tristan! I reckon there's about seven of 'em!"

Tristan barely managed to duck back into safety as a barrage of bullets impacted the crate and surrounding area. "Only seven? This'll be easy then!" he shouted sarcastically while readying himself for another round of shooting. "You'd think they weren't taking us seriously!"

Tyson managed to let a small laugh loose before returning fire, taking down one Crusader while wounding another. With a quick tap to his headset, Tyson screamed down it, "Max, where the hell are you?"

"_These warehouses are like a labyrinth! We are running as fast as we can!"_

"Hurry!" Tyson attention was brought back to his current situation by and earth-shattering screech just two metres away. He swiftly turned to face his partner; and was horrified with what he saw. "Oh my fucking god…" The crate hid given way under the constant stream of bullets, leaving the brunette exposed. Four holes were apparent: two in his right arm, one in his right shoulder and one in his right hip while he was gasping for breath. "Tristan!"

"_Tyson! What the hell is happening?"_

"Just get your asses over here!" Tyson disconnected from Max and let loose a barrage of bullets, killing three Crusaders and wounding two. "How do like that you sons of bitches!" His rant was cut off by the sight of violet hair. "Crystelle…it's about time you die!"

She ducked behind one of her minions and used him as a shield while preparing her own weapon. "Not before you, Tyson," she sneered. Tyson barely had time to react as she fired her automatic: and connected with her target. He screamed in agony as several bullets ripped into the left hand side of his body, and crumpled to the ground as a bloody mess. A cruel giggle could be heard only a few metres away; causing Tyson to grit his teeth while attempting to regain enough of his senses to hold them off before Max and Yami reached them. That was all he could hope to achieve now. "You know…I wonder sometimes is Kai realises the mistake he made in turning me down. I mean, why would he ally himself with someone as weak and stupid as you? You discover a radiation spike and what do you do? Attempt to take back the piece of the Vortex Generator with just you and some ex-street punk who just barely manage to pull the trigger without hurting himself?" Crystelle chuckled maliciously. "Well, it doesn't matter now; I doubt Kai will miss you much. Sayonara, Tyson."

"You underestimate us Crystelle!" Unfortunately for the boys, she reacted too fast and managed to flee just as Max's laser struck where she had been standing. Within the blink of an eye, she had vanished. Tyson struggled to stay conscious as he watched the Crusaders retreating forms disappear from his blurry vision and watched with careful eyes as Yami examined his wounds.

Tyson yelped and just about held onto what little remained of his consciousness as the former pharaoh applied some pressure to his wounds. "Max!" The blonde returned to his friends at Yami's call. "His wounds are very serious. We need to get him out of here now."

Max attempted to dial his phone but there was no signal available, even though there should have been. "Shit! I can't connect: the Crusaders must have a field up which blocks the use of our phones."

"Then we must get them out of here now, before they lose even more blood."

"No…" Tyson just managed to splutter out. "You need to get the piece of the Generator…before they come back…"

"Ty, you two are going to die unless we do something! Forget the piece, we can come back for it later."

"Max…"

"No, Tyson. That is final." Tyson shook his head briefly before slipping unconscious. "Yami, you think you can stem the bleeding on Tristan while I get some help?"

"Yes, I will keep my guard up and make sure they are safe. Be careful."

Max smiled while giving Yami a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder. "I will, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Max raced off as Yami left Tyson to check on Tristan. Both were in bad shape, but should make it. Or at least, that was what Yami could see. He just prayed there were not any fatal wounds among those multiple shots.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Tyson and Tristan were both being loaded into the back on ambulances. Tyson was still unconscious and was now fairly stable, whereas Tristan was, somehow, conscious and in agony. Neither had suffered any shots which did any very serious damage, though they would both need blood to make it.

Yami re-joined Max after being checked out by the paramedics. The blonde had to have a check of his own however. "Are you okay?"

The former pharaoh nodded "I am fine, nothing happened while you were gone." Max smiled at him before taking out his phone. "Have you managed to get in contact with the others?"

"No, they are still inside the warehouse district, so I can't get a signal. We'll need to go look for them; after we retrieve the piece of the Vortex Generator we found."

"What about Tyson and Tristan? We need to keep an eye on them."

"Hmmm…maybe we should let the Kai and Kaiba know what is going on. They might be able to get in contact with Ray and find out how things are going for them."

"That sounds like a good idea. I will wait for you by the entrance to the district."

"Okay, I won't be long." Max watched as Yami wandered away before pulling out his phone. _This is not going to go down well… _He waited for the telling click, signifying that Kai had picked up. "Kai?"

_"Hey Maxie, what's going on?"_

"Well…I've got good news, bad news, and worse news."

_"Why do I get the feeling you are calling about the worse news?"_ Max didn't know quite what to say, but it was probably best to start with the most major development. _"…Max?"_

"Kai…Tristan and Tyson have both been shot…"

Max could hear the sudden dread which had made itself apparent in Kai's tone. _"What? How? Are you and Yami alright?"_

"It was an ambush at the warehouse they were scouting out. They are both alive and should make it, but they are in bad shape. Yami and I are fine."

"_Okay, please tell me that was the worse news."_

"Yes, it was. Good news: we've got the location of one generator piece and are about to get it. Bad news: we can't get in contact with Ray, Yugi, Joey or Tea due to some sort of interference throughout the entire warehouse district."

"_We'll take a look at it. Where are Tyson and Tristan now?"_

"Heading to Domino General Hospital. Yami and I are going to head back in to get the piece and then find the others."

"_Be careful. Kaiba and I will work on getting through the interference to let you get back in contact. If you hear from us, you should be good to go."_

"Thanks Kai, how are things going on your end?"

"_We've had one near miss, but apart from that we are okay. Things are moving very slowly."_

"Okay, I should go because I'm worried about the others."

"_Look after yourself, Maxie."_

"You too Kai." Max ran back towards Yami, and the two raced back into the warehouse district. _Now to find the others._

* * *

**Next Scheduled Update: 9****th**** May 2011**


	17. Dockland Dangers Part II

First off, I am going to apologise greatly for the lengthy delay in my latest update. I've had a terrible past few of months. Firstly, my uncle passed away peacefully on the 3rd of May, then one of my best friends (who I have known for 15 years) was killed in a car crash on the 6th May and I only finished my finals on the mid June. Since then I have taken time out travelling to get my head together, and because of everything happening I have just not had the heart to write.

_Alliance: Both Angel and I have been grieving over one of our best friends, but she has had a lot more on her plate than just that, so I'm glad she's better and getting back into the game._

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade, or any of their affiliated characters. I do however own my OC's, plot, inventions and screwings of physics.

**Special Note: This chapter is dedicated to Katie Jameson, 12****th**** May 1992 – 6****th**** May 2011. You will be forever missed.**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Dockland Dangers Part II**

"I don't like this…"

"It does seem a little suspicious that we haven't come across any Crusaders yet; and we are rather close to a piece of the Generator, which just adds to speculation."

"Do you think we are walking into a trap?"

"Perhaps… It is either that or the Crusaders believe we are neither brave enough, nor stupid enough to attempt to steal back the pieces of the Vortex Generator."

"What is this then? Brave or stupid?"

Ray rolled his eyes at the pointless question, but answered it anyway. "Stupid is probably an understatement. In most cases I would call this suicidal."

"SUICIDAL?" Ray quickly clamped down hard over Tea's mouth, but the screech had already made itself evident. He paused for a few seconds and was relieved when no running footsteps could be heard.

_Looks like Crystelle isn't expecting us. That makes a pleasant change. _Amber eyes like slits pierced into Tea's own eyes. "Do you want them to find us?" he hissed in a dangerously low voice. She shook her head vigorously. "Then…don't give them any method of doing so. Understood?" With a short, sharp nod from his partner, Ray let go of her and continued walking on; Tea following timidly about a foot behind.

He sighed internally at Tea's actions. _I may be acting harshly, but it is necessary. She is not ready to be a part of this war, but she is one nonetheless: and things are going to get worse before they get better. Our main challenge is to get out of here with a piece of the Vortex Generator and avoid a major confrontation. I won't be able to protect her if we are ambushed._

"Ray?" Ray shrugged out of his thought process and turned to see Tea staring at the radiation monitor. "The readings just spiked as we walked past this window."

His eyes narrowed on the named item and he peered through it slyly. "I can't see through it clearly. We're going to have to go in for a closer look."

"Is going in alone a clever idea?"

Ray growled lowly and was about to snap at Tea again, but realised she brought up a good point: if trouble arose they would need some help. A quick tap of the headset patched him through. "Yugi?"

"_Hey Ray, you guys okay?"_

"We're fine, but we may have across a piece of the Vortex Generator; we could use yourself and Joey as back-up."

"_Where are you two?"_

"Warehouse D-22."

"_We're just outside D-18 so we should be there in a couple of minutes."_

"Good, we'll be inside."

"_All right, be careful you two!"_

Ray couldn't help but chuckle at Yugi's addition to be careful. _We're not the ones stuck with Joey… I hope he keeps his temper in check. _He rolled his eyes at the whimper from Tea next to him. _I think I'll have to do the same thing myself. _"We're going in?"

"We should be safe for a couple of minutes, just to gain a quick look. If everything is fine, we can go in a bit deeper one Yugi and Joey get here but if I get the slightest indication of danger, we will pull out. All right?" Tea sighed in resignation, knowing she had already caused some trouble and followed just behind: making sure she was close enough for Ray to protect her, but not so close to invade his personal space.

Ray slid the warehouse door open slightly and quickly scanned the immediate area. Deeming it was safe to enter, he led the way in with Tea half a pace behind. The warehouse was clearly being used by someone for all the items the no longer wanted or needed: which was a lot. Stacks were piled up throughout, and there was very little walking room. The roof was falling apart in many areas and the support beams looked as if they would give out should too strong a wind put strain on the building.

In other words, it was the perfect place for the Crusaders to hide a piece of the Generator: an extensive search in a time-bomb which could go off at any time. Though they fell foul of their usual weakness – arrogance. Yet again they had underestimated the Rescuers courage.

A sickening thought then struck Ray like a freight train. _Is this what they want? Venture in here and then be crushed by a building collapse? It doesn't matter. We need this piece to stop them. I just hope it is only my paranoia striking…_

A clatter from further inside caused Ray to react and try to reach for his gun: only to find Tea had instead clamped firmly on his arm and pinned it. He drew in a sharp breath and waited for a barrage of bullets which he could no longer prevent…only for nothing to come. Quickly scanning the area he found the culprit: a loose piece of ceiling which had come away and collided with the floor. Ray started breathing again and would have let out a shaky laugh of relief were it not for the anger rising up within him. His piercing gaze turned down to the girl latched onto his right warm who was still cowering in fear. It took all of Ray's willpower not to yell at her for her idiocy. "Tea?" he hissed in an ice cold voice, leading her to freeze up in fear but at the same time feel incensed for the tone. _What did I do now? I swear he enjoys using me as vent for his built up anger…_ "Do you realise what would have happened should there have been Crusaders there? I am unable to draw my gun due to a certain girl using it as a rather large stress ball, and hence, unable to fight back or provide cover for you to get out and warn the others." _Oh…_ "So, can you please do me the pleasure of giving me the use of my arm back, and please get a grip! If you can't handle this then get back to the Game Shop because I cannot babysit you and face the Crusaders!"

"But…" her voice was barely above a whisper, and sounded full of tears, "I want to help my friends…"

"At the moment, you are causing more harm than good. So, like I said, if you can't handle this then leave. If you insist on staying, then please make sure you don't give the Crusaders any more opportunities to kill us than we are already!"

Tea nodded meekly and stepped back a few paces while keeping her eyes on the floor. Ray sighed deeply but did not regret his actions nor words. Barely a few seconds had passed when they heard running outside. He sprung into action and pressed Tea up against a wall, using his own body as a shield while aiming his gun at the door. His finger was poised on the trigger when he heard whispering outside: and a very recognisable Brooklyn accent. "Joey?" he hissed just loudly enough for those outside to hear.

A mass of blonde hair appeared around the corner and spooked both Tea and Ray. "Guys?"

Ray jumped but fortunately did not pull the trigger. Joey looked nervously down at the gun. "Hint for the future, Joey. Don't just appear around a corner when a friend is on edge and has a gun, it won't end well."

He nodded slowly. "Good advice."

Yugi came into view a couple of seconds later. "Did you find anything?"

Ray put his weapon away and allowed Tea to come away from the wall. "We haven't had the chance to search yet, we've just got here." Tea was completely taken aback that Ray had not told the others the truth about what had just happened.

"Cool, well I guess we should get started then. The readouts any help?"

"No, in a space enclosed such as this, we won't be able to get anything useful."

"Ah well, guess we 'ave to go with good old searching then. Shit…" Only now Joey took a good look inside the warehouse. "A _lot _of searching."

"Yeah, a real needle in a haystack."

"How big is this piece?"

"About one foot in dimension each way and look like "a complex maze of machinery and wiring" according to Kai."

"Great…no problem! We'll be outta here in about five!"

Ray chuckled and shook his head. "Okay, the warehouse seems to be empty. Let's split up and take a look around." Each of the others nodded their heads and headed off in different directions. They all took special care in examining everything within their vicinity while keeping a small eye on each other. They knew all too well the Crusaders were unlikely to leave a Generator piece unguarded, and they knew it had been fairly easy going this far.

In fact, it had been _way _too easy.

Yugi sighed at finding yet another broken TV and turned his eyes skyward, only to find the exact thing they were searching for hanging from the ceiling: The Integration Core. "Guys! I've found it!"

Ray smiled and was about to look at Yugi, but caught sight of a Crusader taking aim at his friend instead. "CRUSADERS!" he shouted at the top of his voice while bringing down the aggressor.

Yugi, Joey and Tea briefly looked around and realised not only were they not alone, but they were vastly outnumbered. Tea fled backwards to re-join Ray since she would be unable to stay hidden for long and remain safe while Yugi and Joey both drew their weapons, preparing to fight back. Joey fired away, calling upon his past experience with the machines of death, while Yugi was busy willing himself to bring forth the courage to defend his friends. He was having difficulty finding the power to pull the trigger and potentially kill another; but of course, should he not, then the Crusaders would not hesitate in ending the lives of his friends.

Steeling his resolve and realising what he needed to do, Yugi opened fire and was both shocked and horrified to discover his aim was rather good. "Nice one Yuge!" shouted Joey in encouragement while trying to incapacitate another Crusader, but found his shots were missing the mark by a significant margin. He diverted his gaze to another nearby and found his stomach hitting the floor when he realised what was happening. "Oh _fuck…_ Guys! They are radioing for back-up!"

"Shit!" Ray growled out while shielding Tea from another barrage of bullets. His gaze turned to the Generator piece suspended above them and knew this was their only chance to reach it. Making a split-second decision he handed off one of his guns to Tea. She stared at him with wide eyes as he began to leave in a hurry.

"Ray! Where are you going?" she screamed frantically.

"Someone needs to get the Generator piece! Hold them off as best you can!" he shouted back while running towards a staircase at the back wall. Tea stared nervously at the gun in her hands and settled for hiding for the time being: not having the confidence to fire back.

Ray slammed up against a wall beneath the stairs and shot out a Crusader standing five feet away but too pre-occupied with Yugi and Joey firing back. _Good, they haven't spotted me. _He tapped his earpiece on and informed the other two of his plan. "Yugi, Joey, I'm going for the Generator piece. Cover me while I get it free. Joey, when I tell you, you'd better be prepared to make the best catch of your life."

"_You got it, Ray!"_

"_We've got your back, but I would hurry!"_

"Believe me, I know that time is one thing we don't have!" Ray closed the channel and sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time in a race to make it to the piece before one of the others were hurt. Or worse, killed. Running along the gantry, he got a bird's eye view of the carnage below: Yugi and Joey were outnumbered ten-to-two, but were holding the complete attention of the Crusaders. Tea however, was so busy trying to conceal herself that she didn't spot the Crusader who was preparing to fire on her. Ray was in a dilemma between revealing himself by calling out to her and forfeiting their only chance to retrieve the Generator piece, or potentially letting Tea to die. As fortune would have it however, Tea managed to spot him and, in a moment of panic, stuck the gun out wildly and pulled the trigger: only to land a killing shot. She looked on momentarily horrified, but soon accepted that she had done what was necessary. A quick glance upwards to Ray and a short nod of reassurance gave her a new surge of confidence; and the numbers went from ten-to-three.

Ray quietly made his way over to a support beam and stepped out onto it. It groaned slightly under the extra strain, but did not give him away. He stepped out slowly, but surely as he tried desperately to make it to the Generator piece. He was only a few feet away from the end when he realised, much to his horror, that this beam wasn't going to make it: there was only beam which could reach and it was fifteen feet to the Integration Core. _Damn it! The others can't hold out much longer!_

"_Ray! Ray come in!"_

Ray could have almost laughed in joy at the new voice. "Maxie! Your timing is perfect as ever! Yugi, Joey, Tea and I are caught in a shoot-out in D-22. We've found the Integration Core but the Crusaders have called for back-up, we could really use you about now."

"_Yami and I will be there in two minutes! Hold on till then!"_

Ray switched off the headset and glanced down to see how the other three were getting on; only to catch sight of a certain violet-haired Crusader taking aim at him, and he knew she wasn't going to miss. _Shit!_ He ran to the edge of the beam and made a desperate leap avoid the shot.

Tea heard a shout of pain from above her and allowed her eyed to drift upwards towards the yell: only to see Ray plummeting into a pile of rubbish and remain still upon impact. "RAY!" she screamed frantically, but received no answer. Yugi and Joey chanced a glance towards their unmoving friend and felt a chill going through their bodies: this was all really happening and they could die at any moment. They were stunned when the gunfire slowed and finally came to a halt.

"I have no desire to harm any of you. Lower your weapons and you will be allowed free passage back to the city," declared the proud voice of Crystelle.

"Like hell! After what you just did you really expect us to believe that?" yelled Joey.

"Ray was one of the Rescuers and had been a rather large pain in my side for long enough. You all were dragged into this by accident. Do you not want to go back to your old lives?"

"Knowing what you all plan to do? Forget it Crystelle! We won't let you take our world without a fight!"

"Have it your way. Kill them!" Crystelle was about to turn away and leave them to her fate, but her instincts warned her of danger and she quickly ducked away: and avoided Ray's potentially killing shot. In the shock of the moment he managed to bring down two other Crusaders before reinforcements arrived in the form of Max and Yami, both shooting down another Crusader each. Now with both sides having brought in their back-up it was eleven-to-six.

"Max!" said blonde turned to face Ray. "I'm going for the Core!"

"Got it! I'll get Tea and Yugi out of here!" Ray nodded in response before leaping for a swinging chain. He fired on another Crusader and brought him down before hauling himself up so he was level with the support beam. A well-timed leap saw him grab on and swing up, leaving nothing between him and what they needed.

He grabbed the Integration Core and shot out the chains holding it in pain before seeking out Joey. "Joey! Time for that catch!" Joey faced him and nodded: opening his arms wide. Ray launched it with all his strength while shouting out final instructions. "You and Yami get out of here!" Joey placed himself so that his body took the full force of the impact, but protected the machinery. With their prize safely in their hands, they fled as fast as they could. Several of the junk towers fell after a small nudge from the pair leaving it impossible for the Crusaders to follow them: but also impossible for Ray to get out. Now with no other target, the remaining Crusaders turned their aim towards him. "Oh shit!" Ray threw himself onto another nearby chain and swung across to land painfully on the gantry on the opposite side.

Max waited nervously outside with Tea and Yugi, but felt relief wash over him as Yami and Joey re-appeared with the Integration Core. Though, Ray was not with them. "Where's Ray?"

"He's pinned. We managed to get out but unfortunately we ended up blocking the exit in the rush," answered Joey breathlessly.

"There isn't another way out, Max," added Yami angrily. He was furious and not being more careful.

Max sighed and looked around frantically: finding a lone method out. "There is another way."

Ray sat against the cold steel wall and tried to find another gun but knew there would not be one. He had used up all his ammo and was now a sitting duck. _"Ray!" _He was shocked out of his useless search by Max's voice over the headset. _"New York escape! 4 metres!"_ Ray shot up a searched for a window. It only a couple of seconds to find it and with very little hesitation he sprinted towards it. Several Crusaders, including Crystelle, had managed to get up onto the gantry and began firing at the running Rescuer. As gunshots ricocheted and zoomed past him, Ray had very little time to think. _I hope Max meant 4 metres jump rather than a drop otherwise this will be a very painful landing._

Ray hurled himself through the remains of the glass window and found that Max had meant a 4 metre jump, but that still included a three metre drop to the roof of the next warehouse. He rolled into the landing but even that didn't take out the full force of the impact. Losing control after the first roll, he was sent spiralling along the steel roof and came to a halt a few metres later. Ray shook his head and turned back to the window just in time to see Crystelle arrive and begin firing at him. He sprinted away without a backwards glance, but had he done so he would see that Crystelle quickly gave up on striking him and turned away calmly: confident of her success the next time the two should meet.

Ray slowed down slightly at the call of his name and looked down to see the other five running by the side of the warehouse with big smiles on their faces. He beamed back at them before spotting that he was coming up to a small crane ahead. A large jump saw him grabbing onto the arm of the crane and he hung there for a couple of seconds to catch his breath, not quite believing that he managed to make it out of that situation alive, let alone without any notable injury. He swung and jumped so that he could grab onto the body, before he touched down onto solid ground again. Barely two seconds later he and Max met in a bone-crushing hug both laughing in disbelief and joy. "I can't believe that you are alive!" exclaimed Max excitedly.

"You aren't as surprised as me Maxie. I thought I was a goner," admitted Ray, the smile never quite leaving his face.

"We saw you go down Ray…we thought Crystelle had killed you…" said Yugi quietly, afraid of destroying the happier mood.

"That was the idea. The moment Crystelle showed up I realised her plan: she was hoping to gain you all as hostages once I was out of the picture. She had no hope of holding me but she thought you lot would be easier to capture, and more useful in the long run."

"What reason would she have for that?" asked Tea.

"Crystelle knows there is only one person who can stop her and she knows he has one fatal weakness: his desire to save others."

"You mean Kai, don't you? She would have demanded Kai turn himself over in return for the safety of Yugi, Tea and Joey," surmised Yami.

"Yeah, Crystelle never had any intention of letting you all go. She probably would have freed you all had she got a hold of Kai because then nobody could stand against her. Anyway, that little conversation bought the time we needed for Max and Yami to join us."

"Nice timing on that you two," added Tea.

"Well, we were coming in to get you four out anyway. Things took a rather serious turn on the other side of the docks. Tyson and Tristan were gunned down by the Crusaders." Tea gasped loudly while Yugi and Joey paled a few shades, and Ray's eyes had turned black in anger. "They were both alive last we saw, but that was a little while ago. On the plus side…" Max pulled out a small little item while looked very much like a compass. "We found the Spatial Gauge."

"Yes!" exclaimed Joey excitedly.

"Now we have two pieces of the Generator!" added Tea happily.

"Halfway there…" stated Ray while looking thoughtful. "We should probably head to the hospital and see how Tyson and Tristan are."

"Sounds like a plan."

The six headed off back to the city at a reasonable pace, keeping their guard up. Max and Yami were slightly behind the other four, talking quietly when a voice came out over the headset. _"Max? Max do you copy?"_

"Kai! I take it you've managed to punch through the interference?"

"_Better than that, we've managed to de-activate it completely. There should be one of the Kaiba Corp. helicopters coming over you all now." _Sure enough, no more than two seconds later the helicopter appeared and hovered above them. _"The infra-red sensors are detecting that the Crusaders are all retreating. You are in the clear."_

"Great! Guys, we're good, the Crusaders are retreating!" Yugi, Joey and Tea all whooped while Ray visibly relaxed.

"_The copter is to take you guys to Domino General Hospital to get checked out."_

"Kai, what about Tyson and Tristan? Any news?"

"_Tristan suffered no very serious wounds and he came out of surgery half an hour ago, he should wake up within the next hour. Tyson is still in surgery, but they will be a great deal longer. One bullet nicked an artery and he was bleeding internally. According to what I was told, it's 50-50 whether he makes it."_

Max's heart sank at the thought of losing Tyson. "Well, we've now reclaimed the Spatial Gauge and the Integration Core. Do you want me to swing by there and drop them off to you guys before heading to the hospital?"

"_No, Seto and I will meet you all there."_

"All right, we'll see you there."

"_Are you okay, Maxie?"_

"I'm okay, we're all okay. I'll give you the full story when I see you."

"_See you in 15 minutes."_

With that, the call disconnected. The six of them all got into the helicopter and were left to their own thoughts as it raced towards Domino General Hospital. It was only once they were airborne that Max thought of something. _Did he say Seto?_

* * *

I hope I still have my fantastic readers and I haven't lost you due to my inactivity. Please Review since I don't know how good this chapter is after my lack of writing.

**Next Scheduled Update: 12****th**** August 2011**


	18. Reflections

Hi everyone. I feel I owe you all a MASSIVE apology, but please give me a chance to explain myself.

For a couple of months, I was feeling like my muse had run off and that two months then stretched into six months before I had even noticed what was going on. During that time, things had taken a pretty serious turn in my family. My mum suffered a heart attack in November 2011 and was later diagnosed with a heart defect (a defect I have since been tested for and come back positive). Back in January, my thoughts started going off in dark directions and was found to be suffering with depression. My first batch of medication didn't help: it made me take a turn for the worst and become suicidal. After having switched my medication in February and being put on suicide watch for a couple of months, I have finally been given the all clear as of 29th June 2012.

It's been a long road, but I finally am starting to feel like my old self, and as such, I feel like celebrating with a new chapter!

To anyone still reading after having been so patient with me, I send out my heartfelt thanks, and hope I can do that patience justice by finishing this for all of you!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. I do however own my OC's, plot, inventions and various screwings with physics.**

After nearly a year without update, I declare **Proud Hearts **back underway!

**Chapter 17: Reflections**

"You sure you don't want to get checked out, Ray? You would have taken quite a hard landing when you hit that roof," asked Yugi gently. The group were now sitting in a private waiting room at Domino General Hospital, awaiting news on Tyson and Tristan.

"Nah, I've had harder ones, besides it doesn't even compare to the jolt I got when I did that stunt the first time," replied Ray with a small smile. Max snickered from his seat next to Yami, causing the group to look at the pair strangely.

"Okay, which leads me onto my next question: what the hell does "New York escape" mean?" probed Joey.

"Ah, well that is a tale I suppose I should leave to our very own Kamikaze," smirked Max, earning a mock glare from Ray at the use of his nickname.

"I thought you dropped that?"

"Nope, not a chance in hell. How many other people dive headfirst out of windows several stories up and live to tell the tale?"

"'Scuse me?" exclaimed Joey.

Ray rolled his eyes. "A slight exaggeration by Max."

"Okay, so it wasn't quite headfirst, but right shoulder first." That earned another mock glare. "Still you did dive out a tenth-floor window."

"I think you are going to have to tell us about this one, Ray," giggled Tea.

"Yeah, I need to know how you made it after a fall like that!" added Joey.

Ray sighed dramatically. "All right, fine. The four of us were in New York trying to gain some intel on a Crusader facility when we caught a break in gaining the codes to get inside. It was decided that I was the one to go inside, since I was the most agile and knew martial arts more than the others, so I could get out of a tight spot without firing a gun and giving away my position."

"A well thought out plan," said Yami nodding. Unbeknownst to those around, he had moved his arm which was slung over the back of Max's chair so that he could draw lazy circles in the back of the blonde's left shoulder. No-one could see the small affectionate gesture, but Max could feel it, and was incredibly thankful that everyone was paying such great attention to Ray in his story-telling that they could not see the blush which has surely spread all the way to the tips of his ears.

"It turned out better than we thought. For the first hour or so I managed to move about unimpaired since nobody recognised me and I didn't even needed to explain my presence there since the scientists were all minding their own business…"

Max couldn't concentrate anymore. The gentle movements of Yami's fingers were sending shivers up his spine, and he just managed to stop himself from echoing that motion throughout his whole body. His efforts at concealing his reactions were not entirely in vain: all eyes except one pair were still glued to Ray, but Max knew without doubt that someone had seen his reaction, or rather had felt it. He raised guarded blue eyes to meet Yami's own, but his breath nearly caught at what he saw: affection, desire and joy were shining out from crimson orbs much older than they appeared. A small squeeze of reassurance from the former pharaoh let Max know his reaction was exactly what he wanted, and the blonde smiled shyly before just managing to tear his eyes away and bring his attention back to the tale of Ray's death-defying stunt.

"…just managing to download everything we needed. It took a long time for me to find a small group of security and take them down to arm myself. You can imagine me cursing the paranoia of the Crusaders to have metal detectors installed when I first went in. Once I managed to get a hold of a weapon, I had no choice but to climb the building since all of the lower levels were now swarming with security. I was lucky to be able to get up to the eighth floor without meeting more company: a single wound to my left arm was all I took before I reached to tenth floor.

"Luckily, Kai had managed to think of an escape plan: the next building was being reconstructed following Exposure. He sent Tyson up into a nearby crane and he manoeuvred it into a position so that when I dived out the window, I would be able to land on the beam it was holding. Max was on the crane arm ready to provide cover should I need it, which it turns out I did. I threw myself out the window and just about managed to grab the steel cabling to slow my fall before I hit the beam; still wasn't a pretty landing, and I just about held onto the edge when I bounced off it. Max was invaluable cover because pretty soon they were firing on my position, and I was lucky they didn't hit me: I was a sitting duck. One shot did get rather too close for comfort and the sparks which resulted from the rebound made me lose my grip on the beam. It was a three storey drop the first time, this time it was a seven-storey drop and I was head for the tarmac."

Tea instinctively shuddered at the thought of that drop while Joey's mouth simply hung open. "How the hell did you survive that?" he screeched, causing more than one of the others to clamp their hands over their ears to block out the noise.

"Joey! Was that necessary?" exclaimed Tea in reply.

"That was rather loud, Joey…" agreed Yugi, the others simply nodded their agreement.

Sighing in resignation and apology, the blonde the sat in the chairs opposite. "Sorry guys, I'm just a little wound up at the moment. I mean, my best mate just got shot up pretty good and we barely escaped with our lives from an ambush. How can you all be sitting there so calm?"

Tea started tearing up and quickly diverted her eyes to the floor. "I'm not calm Joey, but I just don't know what to do…" Yugi next to her and pulled her into a gentle hug, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Yami chose to remain silent, as if to echo Tea's sentiment of not knowing quite how to handle the situation.

Joey noticed that Ray and Max had not answered his question. "Well?" Both sets of eyes met his own. "How do you guys do it? How do you bounce back from this?"

Max stood up and walked over to a window a few metres away with and unknown expression on his face. Ray leant forward to lean on his knees and took a couple of seconds to answer. "It's difficult to explain but…we've been in this kind of position so often that… That…"

"That we take it as a victory when we all come out of it alive," finished Max. All eyes diverted to him, but he kept his own fixed out of the window. "This war has robbed all of us of so much, that it is pretty much all we have left to celebrate: that we still live and can still fight them."

Max's explanation hit Yugi, Joey, Tea and Yami like a punch to the gut. They were pretty thankful that he has turned away so to hide his face, for they weren't sure they wanted to see his emotions laid bare for all to see. Tea was the first to try and dispel the sombre mood. "So Ray, how did you survive falling seven storeys?"

A familiarly deep voice stepped in to answer before Ray even had the chance. "A rather well timed landing onto a nearby abandoned rubbish truck."

Everyone spun around to see the last two people due to arrive. "Kai! Good to see you and Kaiba got here all right!" cheered Yugi. Kaiba nodded but stayed a few feet away from the group and leant back onto the wall next to him. Kai placed a reassuring hand on Yugi's shoulder for a couple of seconds before moving past all of them to stand directly behind Max.

"Max?" he asked, placing a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. Max did not answer him, but he didn't need to, the hand on his shoulder relaying to Kai all he needed to know: through his outstretched arm he could feel the barely suppressed sobs, and sensed Max's silent question. A quick squeeze of the hand gave the blonde his answer and Kai just about braced himself before he found his arms full of a, now openly, sobbing Max. "Shhh…We're all here Max, we're safe."

"But for how long? I can't believe we were only a few seconds from-"

Kai quickly pressed Max's head into his neck and cut him off before he could finish: not needing to hear it from the blonde. Rocking back and forth slightly, he waited for the initial outburst to subside before turning questioning eyes toward Yami, knowing the former pharaoh would be the one to pass on what Max was trying to say before Kai distracted him. Yami's eyes were heavy and full of anguish at seeing Max in such despair, but summoning up the composure he possessed in his days as pharaoh, he answered. "Crystelle was about let loose a killing shot on Tyson when we arrived. Had we been even three seconds later…"

The dual-haired nodded in understanding before going back to soothing the younger teen in his arms. In those moments of hearing nothing but Max's now quietening sniffles, almost all the others were a little shell-shocked as what to do. Yugi, Joey and Tea could not believe that the harshly-spoken Kai could provide such comfort, and were a little uncomfortable: as if intruding on a moment that should only be witnessed by those considered family by the pair. Yami was struggling to hold back his own tears at seeing the raw emotion coming from Max, and wanted nothing more than to go over and hold him until the tears were gone, but knew it was not his place. Ray was almost frozen in place at never having seen such an openly tender scene between the brothers, but was at last getting a sense of the depth of their friendship; giving him renewed hope that the bond between them will serve as an invaluable tool in their quest to defeat the Crusaders once and for all.

Kaiba meanwhile, was in emotional turmoil. He had been unprepared for the burst of pure adoration and affection which threatened to break through his near perfect mask of indifference, and had to take a few deep breaths to compose himself. Watching Kai speak reassurances gently into Max's ear and holding him close, protecting him from those trying to hurt him, allowed Kaiba to see into the dual-haired's heart for the briefest moment, and see what lay there. Throughout their time working on the Vortex Generator, Kai had always spoken to him about he and Max being "brothers", but Kaiba had always violently argued back, saying that, without the blood bond, Kai could never understand what being brothers meant.

But at that moment, Kaiba realised just how wrong he had been. Despite not sharing the same blood, they held the emotional vulnerability and assurances that came with that bond. He watched on as an older brother, realising that he would be doing no different with his younger brother Mokuba than what Kai was doing with Max now. As he began coming to terms with the sudden emotions bursting from within, another was coming to terms with their own.

Yami stepped forward and met Kai's eyes with a silent question. It took barely a second for that question to register and less than a split second for him to reach his decision. He lessened his grip on Max slowly, leaving time for the younger teen to recognise him moving away; when he did realise, he sent questioning eyes towards the dual-haired teen. Kai smiled slightly and looked towards the former pharaoh while stepping away, silently showing his trust in Yami to be what Max needs. Max looked between them for a couple of seconds before taking a single step towards Yami, who mirrored the movement: thus bringing them together. The former pharaoh open his arms and the blonde stepped into them, wrapping his own around Yami's back. Both sighed in happiness and relief at the warm contact, chasing away many of the negative emotions which had smothered them over the past days.

While almost everyone else was watching the scene with mixed emotions, Kai turned his gaze away towards Kaiba and was not shocked to see the sapphire eyes watching him intently; what surprised him was what he saw within them. He saw the closest thing he would ever get to an apology right there and then, as well as what he suspected to be understanding. But what truly caught his breath was the small but gentle smile aimed his way. His heart warmed at the single, but significant gesture and his eyes shined back in gratitude, an action not missed by the CEO.

To men who valued actions above almost all words, it was the smallest actions that spoke in the greatest volumes.

Kai shut his eyes in an attempt to slow the rapid beating of his heart, but the minute he did, his mind was assaulted with images of another life: of a time when he loved and felt loved in return. Of passionate kisses and meaningful looks, of living in a desolate region with only the warmth of loved ones to warm your frozen and tired body, of feeling happier than he ever had before. A time of serenity that came crashing down in a day of chaos and horror that none should ever see.

Jolting himself back to the present, Kai managed to suppress most of his reaction before turning away and striding down the corridor. Kaiba was the only one to take much notice, but what he had seen in that single second before the walls came up had shocked him. Shame, guilt and fear had all been evident in the amethyst eyes: the three emotions he associated least with the only man Kaiba felt was had ever truly matched or understood him.

Kai had broken through his barriers: now it was the time to repay the favour.

Xx

Kai stretched himself out below the stars of the world, marvelling at how different they were from his home. Looking at them reminded Kai yet again that this was not their world, and they needed to get home as soon as they could.

Then again…Kai's thoughts turned to compare both his original world and this new one they had stumbled upon. What made that world his home compared to this one that had been hurled into? He may have been born there, but everything he valued and cared for was here: his brother, his team-mates, friends and slightly more… He sighed deeply and allowed one stray tear to fall. It was genuinely possible; he could live here, be free, maybe rebuild himself to be someone he could be proud of once again, leave behind that vile war and the woman that had destroyed him.

Were it not for his own damn guilt. He had made a mistake and sworn to make up for it, no matter the personal cost…

* * *

_6 days after Exposure_

_It had taken two days, but he'd finally managed to escape the remains of that crumbling building which just about resembled a hospital. Tyson had caught sight of him just before he managed to make it to the outskirts of the city, where had heard there used to be a bike shop. There wasn't much the former world champion could do to stop him once he had taken to one of the roaring beasts and sped off into the distance. He was on a mission: he needed to fix this. He needed to make amends for the countless lives lost and civilisations ruined. Provisional estimates had put the death toll at 2.6 billion, but he knew it would be millions more._

_Hundreds of millions of people…dead… All because he hadn't listened. The guilt was eating him up from the inside and he needed to go back to where it had all started: where he had found out about his task and chosen to ignore it._

_The monastery was beginning to loom large in his view and he leapt off it before it has even stopped running. Within seconds of stepping inside, he knew he was too late. Far too late. The bodies of the monks were scattered about, but what was even more sickening was that they had all been fallen by weapons of man, not the devastation of what has happened 6 days before. He ran through corridor after corridor, shouting for anyone to answer him, but there were none. No-one had been spared._

_An unreasoning anger built up within Kai as he stood there and looked over them all. There must have been near a hundred dead: a hundred people murdered in cold blood by the Crusaders, those who had torn apart the world in their need to seize control. Had enough people not died already? Refusing to let the emotions come forth, he instead moved to one of the walls which had crumbled from the force of an earthquake which had struck nearby. He should never have gone near it._

_He felt as if every ounce of air had been punched out of him as he saw the devastation of the city below: a massive crevice formed by the earthquake had swallowed much of it up, while much of the rest of it was still ablaze even now, 6 days after the event. There was no-one left to fight it. There was nothing, except the smells of death and destruction; not even any birds flew overhead to give the area some form of life. Kai collapsed to his knees in despair as he realised that this must be what the whole world looked like: dead or dying. He fought to keep the vomit building in his stomach from spilling over onto the floor, he didn't need to be dealing with another smell on top of everything else._

_A clattering of some debris from nearby snapped him back to attention, and he quickly stood while drawing a knife from his belt. Stepping forward cautiously, he almost didn't believe his ears when what sounded like coughing met them. Only when the sound came again did Kai truly believe it to be real. "Hello?" There was no verbal answer, but the rustling of some debris led Kai to only one conclusion: someone was still alive._

_Running towards the sound without a second thought, Kai skidded to a stop next to a pile of moving rocks and helped to clear some away to reveal a young woman, no more than seventeen. He looked towards the rest of the pile and realised his joy was short lived: she was completely pinned beneath the rubble and moving it would surely kill her. It was a miracle she had even survived this long. Her spluttering for breath snapped Kai back to his senses and he moved enough of the debris to help her get comfortable, but that was all he could do. She just managed to open her eyes to meet is own, and he realised vaguely that he has seen her the last time he was here, if only for a fleeting moment._

"_We..tried…to warn…you…"_

_Her whisper brought unwanted tears of anger and shame to his eyes. "I'm sorry. I should have listened, I should have but-"_

"_You…have…come for…redemption…"_

_Kai could not help but nod. "Yes."_

"_That…is not…possible now…" Kai turned away with the guilt, but a gentle hand on his arm brought his eyes back to hers. "That man…is now dead…along with those…killed from...the World Soul's…exposure…" She coughed violently, and he helped her to sit up, just so that she may survive for but a while longer. "But…you have…a second chance…" Kai brought his eyes to focus on her own, all his senses focused on what she could tell him. "The World Soul…you set it…free, yes?"_

_He nodded vigorously. "Yes."_

_She laid back and relaxed. "Then…you can…find it…and…protect…it…"_

_His eyes widened until they threatened to pop out. "I can find the World Soul? And protect it?" She nodded weakly. "Then where? How?" he asked desperately, but she did not answer. Kai shook her gently at firstly, then more vigorously. "How do I find it?" But in his heart, he knew would not get an answer: she was gone._

_He got to his feet and stepped back, eyes turning to the exposed sky, and let loose a heart-wrenching scream._

"_HOW DO I FIND YOU?"_

* * *

That day had brought him a new responsibility: to protect the World Soul with his life. It was a mission he still had to complete, and why he was forced to return to his own world when the time came. The other Rescuers could stay here, but no matter how his heart ached at the task ahead, he had no choice in the matter.

It was then that Kai decided. When the Vortex Generator was finished, he would recall the Crusaders and then venture back through it alone, rigging it to be destroyed the second his journey was complete: stranding the rest of the Rescuers here while leaving him to deal with them alone. The least they all deserved was peace and they held no ties to that place any longer. In theory, Kaiba could rebuild it and give them a way back. _Not that he ever would, _thought Kai distantly. The CEO would be glad to be rid of him he was sure. But something in that look downstairs had given him hope once again…

"You know that breaking through a security door is illegal, right?"

Kai smirked in response to the question, not even needing to move from him position nor look at his new companion before answering. "Didn't stop you from following me up here."

"I've got the money to at least buy myself out of trouble."

"Money can't buy you out of everything."

"Haven't found anything so far that falls under that category."

Kai finally leant his head back to see Kaiba leaning back against a wall, wearing a matching smirk. There was nothing malicious behind it, which gave Kai great pride to see, though he couldn't help himself in having a go at the brunette. "What about a victory against Yami?"

The CEO's smirk quickly vanished and a dangerous glint caught in his eyes. "That's different."

"Oh really? I thought everything included 'everything'."

Kaiba snarled lightly, but matched Kai's position stretched out beneath the stars. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed between them before Kaiba broke it with the question which had been burning in his mind. "What was that about?"

Kai sighed, not even needing to ask what Kaiba meant, he knew damn well the brunette could see past him better than anyone, even Max. "Just memories."

"So bury them."

"Tried that, didn't work."

"So what are yougoing to do about it?"

"Working on it."

"Work faster, need you back in shape for working on the Generator tomorrow."

Kai's smirk widened and he turned to face Kaiba. "Worried about me, _petal?_"

Kaiba smirked widely in response, ready for that trick this time. "Don't flatter yourself, _sugar_." Kai's glare in response made it worthwhile. "You don't think two can play this game?"

It didn't take long for Kai's familiar smile to settle back into place. "I'm surprised you are willing to play at all."

Kaiba's eyes were filled with amusement as he replied. "I am willing to play any game, and I always strive to win."

Kai laughed in response. "And what makes you think you would win this one?"

"Because I always win."

"Always?"

"Excluding 5000 year old spirits with the luck of a leprechaun."

"So, what would you gain from winning this game?"

Kaiba's eyes darkened several shades as he answered. "Dominion over you."

A small thrill of excitement passed through Kai's body at the statement. "And if I win?"

"I don't lose to street punks."

"This street punk is kicking your ass in our first game."

Kaiba suddenly moved so that his upper body was stretched right over Kai, while his left hand kept Kai's right pinned. "A moment of weakness on my part."

Kai stayed in his position as he continued to rile his opponent. "I think you mean three moments of weakness."

A small flash of something dangerous passed through the sapphire eyes, Kai could have sworn it was anger, but it was suppressed so quickly that he could not be sure. Instead the grip on Kai's wrist tightened and the CEO lowered his face closer to Kai's own. "So you have the upper hand in that little duel, doesn't mean you will win this one."

Kai would have bitten back, were he not being severely distracted by the muscled body of the man above him, essentially pinning him to the roof. This little battle of words and wills was exhilarating to both of them, and they had never found themselves more attracted to the other than at that very moment. It was a duel in every sense, it was down to which of them to cave in first, be it in their words, or their feelings; but their pride would allow neither of them to budge.

The charged moment was ended by the ringing of Kai's phone. Both of them stared into the other's eyes until the fourth ring, it which point Kai, answered, though neither gaze wavered. "Yeah?"

"_Kai? Tyson's finally out, looks like he's in the clear_."

"All right, we'll be right down. Sit tight."

"_Okay, see you soon."_

Kai hung up without out another word, but instead changed his stare, showing disappointment in his eyes. "We need to go." Kaiba merely huffed in agreement and got up, finally allowing the smaller man to stand. It was amazing how quickly they missed the warmth of the other, though neither would admit it.

But, Kaiba wasn't willing to let his equal go that easy. "We will finish this later."

Kai's eyes simply danced with joy and exhilaration. "Then I look forward to resuming our battle."

"Just so you can lose?"

"You wish." Kaiba was halfway through the door when Kai's voice stopped him. "Seto?" The CEO didn't quite look back, but could just about see him from the corner of his eye. "Thank you."

Kaiba snorted, but still smiled. "Somebody needed to snap you out of your slump." Without another word, he then left.

Kai sighed deeply, before turning his eyes back to the sky, his heart feeling lighter than it had in a long time. _Maybe there is hope for us yet._

* * *

**Please Review,** I would greatly appreciate them, if for nothing else on suggestions of how to get back to my writing best.

Negative Angel


	19. A Life Lost

Hi all, I'm back again. University is being a little bit of a pain at the moment, and I've also started a new job, so finding time to write has been difficult to say the least. Slowly but surely, I've made it though, and here comes the next instalment of my little tale. Before we get that underway however, I need to take care of the housekeeping.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. I do however own my OC's, plot, inventions and various screwings with physics.**

* * *

**Chapter 18: A Life Lost**

When Kai and Kaiba made it back downstairs, everyone else had already gone through to see Tyson and Tristan. Tyson would still be under the anaesthetic for a few hours yet, but Tristan was conscious: though slightly dopey due to the amount of pain medication. The others turned to face the two late arrivals and gave them a small smile.

Joey sat on the edge of Tristan's bed, and gave his friend a lopsided grin before talking to him. "How you feeling, T?"

Tristan laughed harshly, but broke into a fit of coughs at the action. It took a few seconds for it to subside. "Let's just say I know what Swiss cheese feels like."

"You remember what happened man?"

"Yeah, Tyson and I were about to investigate a radiation spike we had picked up, and I guess we were talking a little too loudly because next thing I know, were are dodging bullet rain. I can sort of remember shouting something about them not taking us seriously; the bullet impacts are easy enough to remember. I've been shot before, though not seriously. Gotta tell you, this really sucks."

"Welcome to the survivors club Tristan," said Ray.

"Yeah, the club for people with multiple gunshot wounds and have come out of it alive," added Max grimly.

Kai now turned his attention to the injured teen. "Tristan, do you remember anything from you getting shot to Yami and Max rescuing you?"

"Nah, it's all a bit hazy unfortunately. I was a bit busy trying to deal with the pain. Sorry."

Kai gave a small smile. 'No problem, it was a vain hope. I need to get back to Kaiba Corp. and put back those pieces of the Generator you guys found. I'll see you all later." Kai swiftly turned and left without another word. Max watched him until he was out of sight, and was about to follow him until a thought struck him. He turned to look at Kaiba, whose face was tight with concentration: clearly he didn't know what was on Kai's mind either.

_But, _Max got the distinct impression he had an idea of what it was. "Kaiba." The CEO faced him. "Are you heading back too?" It only took Kaiba a split second to realise what Max was insinuating.

_He needs you right now, not me._

While Kaiba was surprised at the level of trust Max was giving him, it left Kaiba feeling uneasy too. _Maybe he's figured it out...if Yami realised it that quick, it wouldn't surprise me. _ The brunette gave nothing more than a grunt of acknowledgement before walking out the door too.

Joey snorted the minute he was gone. "Would it kill the guy to actually say something?"

"Joey, Kaiba doesn't need to. He has his own method of communication," replied Yugi.

"Yeah, _non-_communication."

As Joey continued to rant, Yami put his on Max's arm and whispered to him, "You aren't matchmaking, are you Max?"

Max suppressed a smile and kept a bland expression. "Actually no, I wasn't. Something is troubling Kai, but for once, I don't think I'm the one who needs to push him for the answers."

* * *

Kaiba arrived back in Lab 23 just a few minutes after Kai, but what he found when he got back was not what he expected. The blue-haired teen was holding a gun in his hand, and the way he was looking at it made the CEO edgy to say the least. Kai didn't even bother looking at his companion as he spoke. "It's strange to say the least, to think that such a small thing can cause such pain, let alone kill people. All you have to do is pull a small trigger," Kai tightened his grip on the trigger, and tilted the gun towards Kaiba. The brunette reflexively took a step backwards, but Kai didn't see it: he was only aware of the CEO's presence, nothing more. "And within a second, that could be it. Game over. Probably one of the few things that can cause both an agonising, or painless death."

Kaiba could not help himself when Kai placed the gun at his temple. "Kai, don't!" But just as he spoke the last syllable, the other teen had pulled the trigger. Kaiba could barely breathe for a few seconds as the world seemed to free around him, until he realised something: the gun had only clicked. It wasn't loaded.

Kai chuckled ruefully as he pulled the gun away and looked at the other for the first time. "If only it were that simple." He threw the gun onto a small table at the side of the room and slumped against a wall, before sliding down it to rest on the floor. It took a few more seconds for Kaiba to come back to himself, and for his heart to not threaten to burst out of his chest. Once he felt he could keep a hold of himself, or at least partially, he sat down next to his companion. Kai knew the question that the brunette wanted to ask, but was almost fearful to. He knew that he was coming across as being at the edge of insanity, but that was how he felt: he was one a knife-edge and one more false move would lead to his demise. "I can't leave yet. I have a job to do, a promise to keep, a duty to fulfil."

"Is that really all keeping you here?"

"No, but I attract danger like a bloody magnet. It seems to follow me no matter what, and I'm tired of dragging everyone else into it. Just when I began to forgive myself for my teammates, all this happens."

Kaiba knew all these insecurities must originate from somewhere. "You said before that Crystelle is a different person now to how she was when you first met her. What changed?"

Kai sighed deeply. "You remember that before I told you I've died before? I'm not the only one. My Crystelle died the day I went to the monastery. The day she came into her Crusader heritage..."

* * *

_Two and a half years ago_

_Kai came over the crest of the hill to the sight of several hundred metres of tents. It astounded him how many kids lived in such a small space, but not as much as the fact that from what he could see, they were completely happy. They were laughing, playing with each other, reading or just sleeping. Given the harsh environment, and the fact that all these kids were orphans, Kai was damn impressed. This place must be as great as they say. Now, just to see if he could convince whoever was running this place to let him join._

_It took a couple of goes for the kids to be willing to talk to him, but eventually, Kai was pointed in the direction of the meeting tent. It didn't help that a lot of these kids found him scary. _Well what do you expect? You come across as a cold hearted bastard almost all of the time anyway, why should they not be scared of you? _This was one time he really wished he wasn't a world famous beyblader. When he eventually found the meeting tent, he found it was empty. After a few confused seconds, Kai's mystery was solved when he heard laughter out the back: the laughter of both a child and that of someone distinctly older. _

_He slipped out the other side of the tent, and was surprised to find a young girl of barely five years old being tickled by a woman around Kai's age with stunning violet hair. Upon noticing him, she swiftly ceased in the assault of her young companion, but never stopped smiling. "Honey, why don't you go back to the tent and we'll finish up our lesson tonight? I have some other things to take care of."_

_"Okay! Thanks Crystelle!" _

_The young girl laughed away then ran off, not even taking notice of Kai. He watched her go off with a little skip in her step. "Her name is Maya, she only came here two weeks ago after her parents were killed in a car accident. The poor kid doesn't have long left to live sadly. She has a brain tumour which is set to kill her in maybe a few months. We can't afford to give her the treatment that would save her life." Kai watched her go sadly, thinking of the cruel irony: to have to deal with the deaths of her parents when her own demise is so close. "So, what brings the great Kai Hiwatari to my little corner of Siberia?"_

_"Needed a new purpose, especially since I'm retired from beyblading now. This place seemed to fit the bill."_

_"And why would that be?"_

_"Having grown up in an orphanage, I know how crap it can be, especially if you don't have someone looking out for you."_

_"You've never struck me as someone who would give a shit about kids." Kai's eyebrow nearly hit his hairline. She merely smiled while holding our her hand. "Crystelle Darounde, and I would love the help."_

_Kai smirked and shook her hand. "So, what was this lesson you were about to give young Maya?"_

_Crystelle shrugged. "Just a little kickboxing."_

_"You know kickboxing?"_

_"The basics, I've come up with a few moves of my own since."_

_"Really? Let's see you then."_

_Crystelle laughed. "You know kickboxing?"_

_"No, but I know how to fight."_

_"Scrapping does not count as fighting."_

_"I never said scrapping did I?"_

_Crystelle simply smiled while getting into position. Kai set himself up, but was not fully braced for Crystelle's first attack: being forced to spin away as she launched a high chest kick. He growled slightly then countered with a punching sequence, all of which Crystelle either dodged or parried. When she first had the moment, she launched one of her knees towards Kai's stomach, but he raised his own to block before using the change of momentum to throw her off balance. As she stumbled, Kai grabbed her and made to throw her over his hip, but the move backfired spectacularly when Crystelle hooked her leg around his knee, and used a handspring to throw herself forward and take Kai with it. He landed flat on his back, and Crystelle swiftly pinned him to the floor. _

_"Like I say: scrapping and fighting are two different things entirely." Kai simply glared in response. "Tell you what, let's compromise. How about I teach you a few of my tricks, then we have a re-match?"_

_He smirked in response. "Deal."_

* * *

_One Week Later_

_Kai's first week in the camp had gone down brilliantly. He was already a hit with many of the kids, especially the ones with beyblades. He never could have dreamed that it would go as well as it had; best of all, none of the others running the camp had asked any questions when he had joined the effort. Only Crystelle knew the reasons, and was the only one who really made a point of asking pointed questions of him. The first day he had realised she would not let it go until she knew everything about him, which led to an inspired idea. After all her probing, Kai had realised that he had the chance to save young Maya, who he had grown close to along with Crystelle. It would take a few weeks to untangle the money from his grandfather's estate, which he had blatantly ignored since he had inherited it, but now that bastard's legacy was going to be to save that young girl's life, and Kai could not be more pleased. He had sought to use that money to ruin and destroy lives: now it was going to save them._

_However, that was not what was on Kai's mind today. Today, he had a very different idea. "You really want a re-match now?" asked Crystelle incredulously._

_"I think I've got the measure of you now," said Kai in response._

_Crystelle laughed. "You are going down, Hiwatari."_

_"Bring it on."_

_Their re-match was a near instant replay of their first duel, up until the hip throw. This time, as Crystelle attempted her hand spring, Kai spun around as she tried to pin him, and ended up reversing the position: he was now pinning her. Crystelle was now slightly winded and breathless, not helped by the fact she was laughing slightly. "Okay, I was not expecting that."_

_"You didn't seriously think that trick was going to work twice, did you?"_

_"I didn't think you would have learned as quick as that." The two of them lay there for several moments, locked in each other's gaze, until they both began to gravitate towards each other. As their lips met, shockwaves shot up both their spines. Kai's hands moved down Crystelle's sides as her arms linked around his neck, pulling him in closer. They stayed linked like that until the need for air became too much. Their lips came apart, but everything else stayed as it was. Eventually, both of them smiled, and laughed quietly. "I've gotta admit, that's a good position to have a first kiss in."_

_Kai's eyes darkened. "It's also a good position for other things."_

_Crystelle quickly picked him on the lips before whispering in his ear. "Good thing my tent is out of the way then, isn't it?_

* * *

Kaiba couldn't help but admit, that life sounded pretty good. "Why do I get the feeling something went wrong?"

Kai chuckled bitterly. "It sure did, and it drove us away from that place until right before everything fell apart."

* * *

_Three weeks after arriving at the camp_

_Both Kai and Crystelle laughed as they watched a bunch of kicks practicing the kickboxing moves they had just taught. It was nearly sundown and they would soon have to get preparing the food for dinner. Kai had his arms wrapped around Crystelle while she was leaning back into his embrace. "I never asked you this before, but now I think I need to know the answer. How long do you plan on staying here?"_

_Kai sighed, he knew this question was coming. "I need to see the rest of my team at some point. I originally planned to stay here a month before I decided when to go home."_

_"...And?"_

_"And, I' hope they don't mind roughing it out here for a while, cause I'm not leaving now." Crystelle swiftly turned towards him. "I know you are too important to leave the camp for any length of time. Besides, in about 6 days, this place is going to get a huge makeover."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You didn't think I was just spending money on Maya's operation and leaving all the other kids, did you? I'm pouring in everything I can to give this place more stability, and give these kids someplace safer to live. It's the least I can do."_

_Crystelle had tears in her eyes at his announcement. "Kai...Thank you!" She threw herself into his arms and kissed him soundly. When they parted, she still had tears of joy running down her face. _

_The happy moment was shattered when a shout came out from one of the other helpers. "Kai! Crystelle!"_

_They both turned towards the shout. "What's wrong?"_

_"It's Maya." _

_Anything else that might have been said fell on deaf ears as Crystelle raced off, with Kai close behind. The young girl had become dear to both of them, and the fear overtook them that something may happen just days before her life-saving operation._

_Crystelle burst into her tent with Kai right behind her, and gasped upon what she saw: the young girl was lying limp on her bed, with her eyes shut. She appeared asleep, were it not for the trail of dried blood which originated from her nose. The violet-haired teen dropped to her knees beside the girl, and picked up her limp form, shaking her gently. "Maya, wake up." She tried again, shaking more violently. "Maya, wake up!" Kai crouched beside her, and placed questing fingers on her neck. "Please no..."_

_Kai shuddered as the truth hit him. "Crystelle, she's gone."_

_The screams of denial which ripped from her throat were something he could never forget. He held her close as the tears of joy from only minutes earlier turned to tears of despair. 6 days, and she could have been saved._

* * *

Kai stood up, and went over to his computer, and flicked it onto a photograph, before tossing it to Kaiba. His breath nearly caught in his throat as he took in the scene before him: it showed Kai, Crystelle and who he could only assume was young Maya. It was a beautiful picture, with Maya laughing away in the front, while snuggling back into Kai's arm; next to him was a beaming Crystelle, who was looking down tenderly at the brown-haired girl while she tickled Maya with one hand, and had her other wrapped around Kai's shoulders. Kai was the only one looking at the camera, and had a happy smile as he held onto both the girls. There was only one thing that Kaiba could use to describe them.

_They almost look like a family._

"Maya's death broke Crystelle. She quit the camp the next day and decided to come with me as I rejoined Max, Tyson and Ray. It was priceless seeing their faces when I brought back my new girlfriend, and it was good for her too. It gave her a chance to be in a happy atmosphere while she got over the grief of losing Maya. It took two months, but she eventually decided she wanted to go back to the camp: I went with her for the time being, not sure if I could stay there permanently, but I felt it was where I had to be at that time.

"But I had barely been back two days when I went to the monastery..."

* * *

_"Kai!" The blue-haired teen turned to his girlfriend as she came running up to him. "We've just got word of a huge snowstorm set to hit in a couple of hours. We need you to go to the nearby monastery and see if they will shelter the kids until it passes: we can't risk take the risk that the camp will not survive with the kids still here."_

_"All right, I'll be back as soon as I can. Get all the kids ready to move as soon as I return."_

_"We'll be ready, please hurry. We need time to come up with a back-up plan in case they refuse." _

_The two shared a quick kiss before Kai raced off. Ten minutes later, he arrived in the monastery, and searched for someone who could help him. "Hello? Is anyone here?"_

_"Who goes there?" asked an elderly voice. He came out from a nearby room to meet the teen. "Ah, and what can we do for you young man?"_

_"I have come from to ask for shelter. Do you know of the camp for kids near to here?" _

_"Yes, we have caught sight of it many a time before. You wish for us to give you a new home?"_

_"No, only to allow us to stay here until the storm has subsided. Once that has passed, we will return to our camp."_

_"My boy, we are more than happy to give you all sanctuary until it is safe for you to return once more. Take as much time as you need, but bring all the children here quickly and safely. These tortured young souls need the protection."_

_Kai nodded and walked back through the many corridors on his way out, but was pulled aside harshly by another monk, one much younger this time, but with a much more serious expression. "You, boy, must fulfil your duty."_

_Kai scowled at the monk. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"The World Soul is in danger, and it is down to you to find it, and to save it."_

_"The World Soul? What the hell is that?"_

_"The living incarnation of our world. Long ago, there lived an ancient tribe, dedicated to the protection of our planet lived, who were perfectly in tune with nature. But soon, many of those in the tribe discovered something they were never exposed to, and compelled to possess it: power, and dominion over the world. They became a group known as the Crusaders. Cast out from the ancient tribe, those remained made a solemn oath to protect the world from this group and shield what the so coveted: The World Soul. With it, the could cause the end of humanity itself, and reshape the world to how they see fit. _

_"Now, thousands of years later, you are the one who is to defend the World Soul from the evil which seeks it. You must go to Thailand, to the Orchid orphanage, and find a young girl. She is the World Soul. Find it, protect it, and protect the world."_

_"You are insane," declared Kai. "I have more important things to do than listen to your incessant rambling." Kai stormed past him, but paused as the monk spoke again._

_"The World Soul needs a protector. Shun your duty, and you condemn the world." Kai snorted in contempt and swiftly left. _

_Had he looked to his right as he passed another corridor however, he would have seen Crystelle hiding in the shadows, having heard every word spoken. _So the World Soul is vulnerable, is it? Looks like I can't run any more. _Crystelle pulled out her phone and dialled a number she never thought she would need to use again. When the phone was answered, she needed only two words in response. "It's me." _

_"Well, this is a surprise. As I recall, the last words you uttered to me were 'If I so much as hear a whisper, from you or your kind again, I will bury you.' And here you are, seeking us out. Whatever changed my dear?"_

_"The scales of fate have changed. I have the location of the World Soul."_

* * *

Kai was so lost in his better memories, that he did not notice that Kaiba had flicked through several more of his photos, and found one which contained his biggest secret. It showed Kai, looking as he did now, with a young girl of maybe three years old. She had stunning midnight blue hair which came to just below her shoulders, and shining amethyst eyes, not too different from Kai's own. _Wait..._ Looking more closely at it, he realised that they did have the same eyes, while the girl's hair matched Kai's own as well. If he didn't know better-

"What are you doing?" Kaiba looked up into the furious, yet shocked eyes of Kai. "That is private!"

"Then you should have mentioned that before," snarled Kaiba back. He knew that he shouldn't have pried but now that he had seen the girl, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. "Who is she?" When Kai pointedly didn't answer, Kaiba dug a little harder. "If I were to hazard a guess, she looks like your daughter. But given you are only 18, that can't be true, since that would mean she was born when you were 15, at the latest. And given I now know you were an orphan from an early age, she cannot be your sister." When Kai still refused to answer, the CEO came to a shocking conclusion. "They don't know, do they? The rest of the Rescuers; they don't even know she exists."

Kai sighed deeply in response. "No, they don't know about her."

"She is your daughter, isn't she?" Kai looked away, but didn't deny it. "She is why you are so hell bent on returning to your world." Again, Kai didn't answer him. "Why have you not told them?"

"It's complicated."

"A dad at 15? Yeah, that would be difficult to explain."

Kai again did not answer him, but instead moved over to the pieces of Vortex Generator that they had recovered. "Come on, now that only the Temporal Stabiliser and the Matter Capsule are missing, we can get back onto finished the Generator. I've had an idea to improve the Generator, and now that we have the Spatial Gauge, we can get started on it."

"And what idea would this be?"

"A Dimensional Shield. Something which would prevent anyone from tampering with a journey or following you once it has been started. Problem is, I've tried it before, but couldn't finish it on my own. I figured with both of us, we have more of a chance."

Kaiba nodded. "It certainly sounds like a sound plan. Let's get started."

Kai inclined his head in reply, but was disturbed by his phone beeping. His face was undecipherable to Kaiba as he read it.

_Top of Domino Tower in 15 minutes. It's time for a discussion long overdue._

Kai put his phone away without sending a reply, he didn't need to. "I'll be gone for a while. My computer still has my original notes for the Shield, have a look at them."

"Where are you vanishing off to?"

"I just have some things to take care of. I won't be long."

"Don't be, I am not doing all of the work for to then waltz in and claim the credit."

Kai smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, petal." Kaiba smirked in response. "I'll be fine." Kai then left out the door, with a small smile still on his face.

Kaiba's swiftly vanished when Kai was out of sight. "You better be."

* * *

It took Kai exactly fifteen minutes to make it to Domino Tower, the tallest non-business tower in the city. Used mainly for sightseeing, it was temporarily closed for maintenance. A perfect spot for a hidden meeting. A quick dodge past the security patrols and Kai found himself in the maintenance elevator, heading straight for the roof. His heart was strangely quiet, but his mind was racing, trying to play out all the possible ways this could end. None of them seemed good, but he had to go through with this. _I need answers_.

The doors dinged upon reaching the roof, and Kai stepped out to the sight of violet hair being whipped up in the breeze. "Glad you could make it, Kai. This has been two years coming." She turned to face him at long last, with a gentle smile on her face, one he had not seen since his previous life. One he could almost say still held the love they once shared.

"Hello, Crys."

* * *

You guys know the drill, Read and please Review :)

Negative Angel


	20. Reborn

Hi guys,

Now that Uni has backed off for a little while, I've managed to finish writing this chapter. It took so many freaking attempts to get what I wanted across! Then again, I haven't exactly had much motivation.

That was one rather hurtful thing I realised: more than 500 views to my last chapter and not a single review. If you guys don't like plot twists then you are in for a few nasty surprises yet, with my most evil one yet to come. These chapters may not have a lot of action, but they do explain much of what triggered the war in the Rescuer/Crusader home world, as well as setting up for my next story in this series. Yes you heard me right, **series**. I hope to span this out into four stories total, and I'd like to know if you guys want that or not.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Beyblade or any of their affiliated characters. I do however own my OC's, plot, inventions and various screwings with physics.**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Reborn**

The two of them had sat in peaceful silence for about ten minutes before Kai's patience started to wear thin. He had taken a huge risk coming to this meeting, and he wasn't going to waste it. "Why did you call me here, Crystelle?"

She turned and smiled at him in the same teasing manner she used to. "Oh, do I need a reason for everything I do?"

Kai smirked. "Two years ago I would have said no…" His face changed to an intense expression: one that said he was not leaving without the truth. "But given what you are now, there is no doubt in my mind."

Crystelle scowled and stood from where they had been sitting at the edge of the roof, choosing instead to keep her back to him. "What I am now? And what exactly does that mean?"

Kai snorted. "You know damn well what I mean. You are a Crusader, everything you do has a purpose; be it gaining information, make a taunt, kill a target-"

"That isn't why I told you to meet me here, I thought you knew me better than that."

"Funny, I thought that too until you put a bullet in my head." She snapped around at that with fury in her eyes. "Well since you are determined to be difficult with me, shall I get this little show started? I think I deserve the truth after the two years of hell you and your kinsmen have put me and my teammates through, not to mention the rest of the world." Kai straightened himself a little and took a deep breath, bracing himself for a few painful truths to emerge. "Why did you do it? What is the purpose of the Crusaders?"

Crystelle sighed and turned away, but kept it so that Kai could see her eyes and know himself if everything she said was true. "We are the descendants of ancient tribe from thousands of years ago. The Guardians, as they called themselves, were humans who were in tune with nature, and as such protected themselves from disaster. They could sense floods, wildfires, hurricanes; you name it, they knew of it. With that power, they shielded their kind and those who they considered allies.

"But not all of the tribe had this power. Only around a tenth of them did, the rest dedicated their lives to attaining this power to sense any one element. But one member discovered the truth: this power did not come from the humans themselves, they were told it by a higher power, the one that caused all of these disasters in the name of 'Nature's Law'."

"The World Soul."

"Bingo. The World Soul chose Guardians it trusted and warned them of events it was about to cause, giving them time to avoid catastrophe. He was furious that this power could destroy the world itself without a second thought, and that the Guardians allowed it to do as it pleased. He swore to contain it and learn the secrets of its power, to stop it from dominating mankind."

"And thus the Crusaders were born."

"He spread word around the tribe of the truth, and many of them joined him and choosing to confront the others. But when they did they were cast out, forbidden to return and stranded in the world. They were left to the mercy of the World Soul but somehow survived, swearing to contain its fearful powers and give humanity its independence one day, leaving the task of controlling the elements to those who are worthy, and have the interests of other humans at heart."

Kai had listened with at least some sympathy, up until that last part. "And how do you choose which humans are worthy? Humans can easily be corrupted, it's a huge fault in the species. The World Soul doesn't set off earthquakes and tsunamis to hurt humanity; we've done that to ourselves since we have now taken over the whole damn planet and grown to such numbers."

"Well I guess Exposure took care of that problem didn't it?"

That made Kai's blood boil. "How dare you-"

"How dare I? You were the one was going on about having grown to such a population that the World Soul can't help but hurt people. Now it doesn't have to, according to your logic."

Kai bit his tongue hard enough that it bled, but it sufficed for reigning in his temper. "All right, so we've learned of how your people became the Crusaders, but what about after that? How did they survive?"

"Most didn't, or at least not the original blood line of the tribe. Others were brought in to continue our mission, brought into the Circle of Freedom as they called it. That was a couple of hundred years after their banishment, and they declared war on the Guardians once their numbers grew large enough. Many Crusaders died, but the Guardians were destroyed beyond all hope of recovery. For a few short years we thought we had finally managed to destroy the last bloodline.

"Once the battle was over, the Crusaders scattered and built our numbers as high as we could, though the Guardians must have used one last ability of theirs, or maybe it was the World Soul, we don't know. What soon became evident was that a Crusader could have no more than one child who lived, all the others were stillborn. There were exceptions, I being one of them, but it meant our numbers stayed severely limited. Bringing in others was now too dangerous since our history was lost by the time the curse was detected."

A vague memory suddenly stirred within Kai. "Wait, you said that you were an exception? Of course, you had an elder brother."

"A much elder brother. He was 26 when he died, and I was only 7. My father was already deeply hurt by my mother's death, and when he was killed…let's just say my father drilled into me what a Crusader should be and what it was that I was fighting. My brother died in a mission to kill what we thought was the last Guardian before he continued the bloodline. It seems we failed…"

"You found another Guardian?" He could not help but be inwardly relieved at the news.

"Yes, the Crusaders developed the ability to, well I guess the only way to describe it is, 'sense' Guardians. I discovered it after I broke away from them, and have kept the secret of his identity with me since."

Kai had been pacing around the roof as he listened to her story, but one statement caused him to stop dead. "You broke away from the Crusaders?"

"Yes, I hated how the upbringing had controlled my life. When I was 14 I ran, and left them with a threat when they tried to have me killed. I never had any intention of returning to them."

"So…why?"

"I…I had followed you, that day, when you went to the monastery. I had forgotten to tell you to ask for some medicines for a couple of kids who were developing a fever. When I got there…you were being warned about the World Soul. After I knew the truth, my upbringing and last remaining loyalty to my father got the better of me…I told him the location and I was charged with bringing in the World Soul myself."

Kai pondered this for a little while. "I guess that answers…my other question."

"You wondered if everything between us was fake?"

"The thought had certainly crossed my mind more than once."

"I may have portrayed that in front of an audience, but…"

"You did care."

"Yes, it hurt me more than I can say to choose them, but as part of the original Crusader bloodline, I felt like I would be betraying my ancestors if I didn't fulfil what I was born for."

"Strangely enough…the knowledge makes me feel slightly better, though I do still wish it hadn't come to this."

Crystelle smiled ruefully. "Unfortunately, I had the feeling it might since I met you. I was trying desperately to outrun it but…"

That confused him. "Wait, what do you mean?"

She sighed deeply. "You know how I said that I found the last Guardian while I was out on my own? There was a reason for you being approached that day at the monastery."

The pieces clicked together in Kai's head so fast that he nearly fell over at the revelation. "You've got to be joking."

"Afraid not. You were already enough of an enemy to the Crusaders that once Exposure was over, I didn't tell them the truth. I told them that I sensed a Guardian, but he escaped before I could do anything. There was a reason I was the one who always pursued you."

Kai scoffed. "Is this your way of saying you were protecting me?"

"Hardly, I was protecting myself." The gave Kai pause. "For the longest time, I still felt so strongly for you that I knew if you were to be killed…I never realised quite how deeply my feelings ran until later that day. After I had…"

"After you thought you **had** killed me."

"For a long time I thought I had made a mistake in my choice, but when I discovered you were alive, I kept the pursuit to find out when my feelings for you had diminished enough for me to land the killer blow."

"And? Could you do it now?"

Crystelle stared at him hard. "No more than you could." Kai glared back at her_._ "Your new friends however, they are fair game. Especially that pretty little partner of yours who is helping you build the new Vortex Generator."

Kai couldn't help himself. "You stay away from him!" Immediately he knew his mistake.

Crystelle smirked. "So it is true, you do care for him. I must admit, though I suspected, I never saw you as that way inclined. And not only that, you care for him more than you ever did me." The look of confusion of Kai's face was obvious. "I know how you look when you are protecting someone dear to you, I saw that look on your face many times when I was with you. There is something more to it now…something much deeper. I find it ironic that you fall for someone who lives in another world, someone you must give up forever if we are ever to return home." A light of recognition became apparent in her eyes. "That's it isn't it? That's why you've never told him the truth? You fear that you might get too attached to him?" Kai refused to answer. "No need to confirm it since I already know it's true."

She looked at her watch before taking a step back. "I think we have discussed all that needs saying. You have another five minutes from now to make your escape before this little truce is over. I am a Crusader General, and you are the leader of the Rescuers, not to mention the last Guardian. It's time we went back to the roles we were born into. Oh and Kai? Don't make yourself too easy a target, I would hate for you to be killed because you were too distracted." Kai settled for glaring at her, realising he didn't have time to argue back as he ran for the elevator to get away. Once he was out of sight, she relaxed her posture and let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

_Maybe since this war began, we can now have a true fight. And maybe one day, one of us can finally find the strength to kill the other._

* * *

Kaiba's headache was approaching new levels as he looked at the clock yet again. Kai had now been gone for more than two hours, and though Kaiba would never admit it, he was worried about him. He'd already had to correct several of the lines of the code for the beginnings of the Dimensional Shield, something that required absolute precision. Whenever he was back into a good frame of mind for working out the intricacies of the calculation, the memory of Kai putting that gun to his head would jump into his mind and send his heart racing again. It had been a long time since he had felt something like it, and he had a suspicion he wouldn't get past it for a time yet.

A beep from his earpiece indicated that he had an incoming call. "Yes?"

"_Seto?"_

Kaiba stood up from the workstation and went to analyse a couple of the pieces of the Generator. "What is it, Mokuba?"

"_Erm…Max asked me to give you a call, apparently he wants to speak to you."_

_That took longer than I expected. _"Sure Mokuba, put him on."

After a few sounds of rustling and doors closing, the voice at the other end changed. _"Did you get anything out of him?"_

"Apart from the fact that he thinks he's the reason you lot are in this mess, which we knew already, no. That brother of yours is damn stubborn."

"_Heh, that he is._ _He didn't tell you anything at all?"_

Kaiba thought about the little girl, but thought better of mentioning her. Kai would elaborate when the time was right. "Nothing, but the bugger vanished after getting a message, and that was two hours ago. What did you tell him?"

"_Kaiba, that wasn't me. I haven't heard from him at all, I've been trying to get him for about an hour."_

That made Kaiba's blood turn to ice. "So who the hell did get a hold of him?"

"_It definitely wasn't Ray or I, and with Tyson out of it…"_

Both of them knew there was only one other person Kai would drop everything to meet. "The bastard went to meet her."

"_He better not be doing anything stupid…"_

"If he does anything idiotic, he has both you and I to answer to. He can take care of himself when he wants to."

"_Yeah, when he wants to…"_

Kaiba sighed. "Max, if I see him, I'll let you know. Maybe he's going to get his head straightened, or he's fed up with her meddling."

"_If we're lucky he's killed her. But if she's- No! He's fine, he's got to be."_

"He isn't going to leave you yet, Max. He's got a job to do first."

"_You're right, of course. I'll leave you to it. By the way, you mind giving him a good punch from me if you see him first? That's the least he deserves."_

Kaiba smirked. "Consider it done."

"_Thanks, Kaiba."_

A click signified the end of the call, before Kaiba sat with his head in his hands, various images of what might be happening spinning through his head. He must have been there for about ten minutes before he managed to get a grip on his over-active imagination. "I swear that idiot is going to be the death of me."

"If you are referring that to me, I'll probably beat you to the Grim Reaper."

The CEO raised his head to see the focus of his thoughts leaning against a wall looking rather satisfied. "That sickening look on your face makes me think you just got laid."

Kai shrugged. "And if I did? It's been a long time and I do have needs, just like any other man."

"I'd be impressed at you going this long, or did it take you this long to recover?"

"Very funny. And for the record, I have gone through the night if I really wanted."

"Only the night? Shame on you."

Kai shook his head as he pushed off from the wall. "Are we really talking about our sex lives?"

"Sex is an integral part of life."

"Yes, but no offense, I didn't exactly picture having this conversation with **you**_."_

"Oh, now I'm hurt, _sugar. _Come here for a second." Kai gave Kaiba a sceptical look, but approached. What he was not expecting was for Kaiba to take a full blown swing at him in the face. The blue-haired teen stumbled and fell backwards, groaning heavily. Kaiba winced slightly at the landing, as well as feeling a little regret for the force behind it: but it was long overdue in his opinion.

"Ugh…let me guess, a little gift from Max?"

"That little brother of yours doesn't like holding back when he's annoyed at you."

"Yes, except Max doesn't punch me **that** hard."

"So I added some of my own annoyance at you as well, you've earned it for what you put us through." Kaiba moved beside Kai and sat next to his sprawled form, contemplating his next words carefully before letting them out into the world. "What did she say?"

Kai merely sighed, not at all surprised that Kaiba had figured it out, especially if he had talked to Max. "I got the truth, that all I wanted."

"About the war, or the two of you?"

"Surprisingly enough, I got both." That made Kaiba pause, waiting for Kai to continue. "Turns out despite our best efforts, we would have always ended up this way, such as our births."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Kai struggled up to sit back on his elbows; it wasn't comfortable, but at least he could now look Kaiba in the eye as he explained the new truths he had discovered. "Turns out the Crusaders were originally from a tribe of people called the Guardians, who were sort of a medium between the World Soul and a small group of humans in tune with nature. When a member of the tribe discovered the truth about the World Soul's power, he didn't agree with it: thus the Crusaders were born."

"Let me guess. They destroyed each other in a senseless war." Kai just looked at him. "That's what happens when people believe strongly enough in what they are fighting for."

"Well, you're right. The Crusaders emerged victorious, but they didn't wipe out the Guardians, a few survived in hiding. Thousands of years later, the Crusaders live on through her, not that she wanted it. And it turns out the Guardians live on…through me."

"You are fucking kidding me. Are you sure she's not bullshitting you?"

"I thought that at first as well, but I remembered the warning and she was right: they could have approached anyone but they chose me. And then when I think of the Gauntlet.."

"Gauntlet?"

Kai froze in place as he realised what it was he had just let slip. Something which **no-one** knew, not even Max. A great internal struggle began within him as he debated telling Kaiba the truth, and to his surprise when he looked up, he realised Kaiba was looking at him patiently; not in the demanding manner he was so used to. It was then that he acknowledged Kaiba was the one to reveal his secret to…but not yet. "Something from my past, the lost five months of my life as I was reborn. No-one knows what happened and I thought I would carry those events to my grave. Maybe someday I can entrust them to another-"

"But not yet. Strangely enough I can relate. Just let me know when it's time." In that moment an unspoken agreement was reached by both of them: they were there if the other needed a pillar of strength to bring them back from the brink, an outstretched hand to pull them back to reality. They just needed to be brave enough to take it.

Kai smiled briefly, but his eyes then darkened. "You'd better watch yourself. It's not me she's after: it's you."

Kaiba's eyes mirrored Kai's own. "I'm not surprised: not only can I help you finish the Generator but I've also had contact with the World Soul. Is she trying to catch me, or kill me?" Kai looked away, revealing he did not know. "Well then, we'd better not give her the opportunity for either, should we?" Kaiba stood up and offered his hand to Kai. The blue-haired teen looked at him in question. "I've been waiting to say this for a while now. Welcome to the fight."

Kai smirked as he took the offered appendage and hauled himself to his feet. He knew it now, this was what he'd been waiting for: the last piece of his old tortured soul was now laid to rest, and he was truly reborn. With a hope he had never felt, and looking straight into the eyes of who he knew now held his heart, he steeled himself for what was to come.

They had Crusaders to defeat, and a war to end.

* * *

**PLEASE** Review, if for nothing else to tell me whether anyone reading this story is still interested in its conclusion. Don't worry, it's still got a long way to go, but I am hoping to break a couple of personal milestones with the reviews. Frist one is to get to 100. I promise to do a double update if we can reach it!

Negative Angel


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